Zettai Yabureru Nai : Never Tear Us Apart
by Aoikami Sarah
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome's children must fight against their old foe in a battle to save their lives and return to home. Sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki. InuyashaxKagome, SesshoumaruxRin ShippoxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter One**

Soft morning light filtered in through the windows in the kitchen. Kagome sipped her tea and breathed a sigh. It was quiet, for just a moment. Her mother shuffled in, her slippers scraping against the floor and echoing a little in the stillness.  
"Oha, Kaasan."  
"Ohayo, Kagome-chan."  
Kagome poured her some tea. Both women looked sadly to the clock on the microwave as it changed to 6:30 and closed their eyes.

What sounded like a heard of wild elephants came rumbling down the stairs, bustling and chattering as it went.  
"Where's my book bag?"  
"Aw, crap! I forgot to make my lunch!"  
"Can I bring in Buyo for show and tell?"  
Kagome smoothly navigated her way around the flailing limbs and questions. She managed to feed all three of them, strap on a backpack, hand them all their lunches and take the aging cat up into her arms in plenty of time.  
"But Kaasan..." the little girl whined.  
"No, I'm sorry Mi-chan, Buyo is too old to go to school with you."  
The girl pouted, but didn't press the matter further.  
"Wow, I have a lot of work to do today!" the man of the house made a face and munched thoughtfully on his toast. "I may have to stay late."  
"Yes," Kagome nodded. Their eyes met and shared a secret signal. "And I have a funeral today. I think it might go late. You kids come straight home. Your gram'ma will be here."  
"Ok," Mi-chan agreed sadly.  
The boy said nothing.  
All three of them streamed out of the house and again it was still.

Kagome and her mother giggled lightly.  
"So, Inuyasha will be back at lunch?"  
"Yes, he got the afternoon off. The roof they're working on is almost done anyway."  
"Do you think Yousuke has any clue about the surprise party?" The grandmother started clearing away the breakfast dishes.  
Kagome shook her head. "I think he might even be a little sad that we forgot! It's hard to tell these days, he's such a moody teenager."  
"Mmmm..." Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "Reminds me of Souta. I can't wait till he comes back from California. Maybe he can impart some wisdom on Yousuke."  
"Ugh!" Kagome rolled her eyes. "What? Tell him to move thousands of miles away from home?"  
"No... I mean he seemed to shape up eventually, maybe he could be a good influence on him."  
"But Souta is a monk, Yousuke is a warrior."  
"You say that like he's fighting a war!" Mrs. Higurashi laughed.  
"He is, Kaasan, the war of High School. It's way harder for boys, especially if they're from a shrine family, happen to be excellent in martial arts and have shockingly white hair!"  
"Sou ka." Mrs. Higurashi sighed. "I see."

The day passed uneventfully. After school, Yousuke walked home with his hands stuffed into his pockets and a sore expression on his face. The other children kept their distance, not wanting to get in the way of the strong, often fierce boy who was known as "White Lightning" for his speed and skill at defeating his enemies on the school yard.   
"Shiro Inazuma..." he heard a group of boys whisper as he passed. They watched him till he was out of sight.  
"Che, weaklings," he scoffed and continued to sulk his way home.  
"Youuuuusukeeeeeee!" a high-pitched voice called from behind him. "Maaaaatteeeeee!"  
Yousuke rolled his eyes, but kept walking at the same pace. The young girl caught up to him and panted. She smiled up at him. He kept looking forward. Her hands came into his view.  
"Happy birthday, Aniisan!" She beamed as she held a large, glittery card out for him. "I made it at school today!"  
Reluctantly, he took it from her. In loose, loopy hiragana she had spelled out 'Happy Birthday Yousuke' and even drawn a little stick figure with a bokken which he assumed was supposed to be him. "They glue is still wet, Misora," he monotoned, rubbing the sticky substance from his hands. He handed the card back to her and kept walking.  
Misora frowned for a moment and looked like she was going to cry, but instead clutched the card and jogged to catch up with him again.

Today was Youske's 15th birthday, and his parents hadn't said one word about it all week. He couldn't believe that they had forgotten, but maybe it didn't mean that much to them. 'Maybe they're scared...' he thought with a grin and as he walked up the steps to the shine complex, he veered right and made for the little building which housed the forbidden well.  
"Aniisan!" Misora squealed behind him. "Kaasan and Tousan said not to go in there, ever!"  
"Bah!" he scoffed. "I'm 15. I'm going in."  
Terrified, Misora stopped. Her 10 year old mind whirled. Should she go and tell her grandmother that her brother was being bad? But he hated it when she tattled on him, even though she was only making sure he didn't get hurt... like when he took the sword down from the living room wall, and when he broke into the supply house and started messing around with the artifacts. Misora sniffled at the idea of her brother being angry at her again. She dropped her books and hurried after him.   
Yousuke was pushing against the planks which were nailed over the opening of the well. One of them gave way with a groan and toppled to the floor.  
"Aniisan! Please don't do that!"  
"Why not? Think I'll get sucked in like mom did when she turned 15? I bet that's what they're so scared of." His face was twisted with delight. "I bet some gross centipede monster is gonna pop outta this thing and drag me off into the past!"  
Misora whined in fear. "Aniisan..." she started to cry.  
"Oh would you grow up?!" he yelled. "Nothing bad is gonna happen! I just wanna see it..." he tried to shoot her a cock-sure grin, but both of their faces fell as a strange sound like leather being twisted emanated from the well. Misora cried out and backed away.  
"Don't worry..." he assured her, his voice only trembling a bit. "It's probly like the story... It's probly just Buyo..."  
Suddenly, the vines which grew from the bottom of the sunless well pulsed and began to glow. Misora's screams were stifled as she became so frightened that she lost the ability to speak. Yousuke backed up and panicked. Before his brain could work fast enough to figure out what to do, the vines became thick, green and very much alive. They lashed out towards them. Much to his surprise, they passed him by.  
He watched as if in slow motion as the vines located their target. Misora found her voice and let a piercing scream ring out. She was lifted into the air as the vines wrapped around her and unceremoniously dragged her into the well. Just as suddenly, her screams stopped.  
Yousuke panted and clung to the banister. It took him a few moments to process what had happened.  
"What the...? It took HER, not ME?!" he cried. "Wait. It took her. Oh my God it took Misora!" He looked to the top of the stairs and decided quickly against going for help. "This is my fault. If I hadn't come in here, she wouldn't have been taken. I've got to get her back!" Without another thought, Yousuke grabbed his book bag and leapt down the well.  
For a moment he wondered when he would hit the bottom. Then, as if he was sinking in water, gently, his feet touched solid ground and bright sunlight poured in through the opening above.  
"I did it..." he whispered. The ground on the bottom of the well was turned as if something had been uprooted. "That vine-thing!" he cried and began the slow climb out of the well.  
Topside, the countryside was quiet, almost pleasant, but that didn't help him. The vine monster was long gone and so was his only sister.

**.x.**

Deep, boisterously loud laughter echoed through the house.  
"Sshhhh!!!" Kagome hissed with a smile that just about wrapped around her head. "They'll be here any minute! I don't want you ruining the surprise!"  
"Sorry," Inuyasha whispered, looking to his mother-in-law and chuckling softly. "That's what you get for sucking on that helium, Kagome. That was damn funny."  
"It won't happen again," she assured him and tied up the rest of the balloons. The living room was festively decorated for Yousuke's surprise birthday party. Finally, the adults sat down and waited for the children to come home from school.

"I hope he doesn't get moody on us," Kagome sighed.  
"Why would he do that? This is great! I would have loved to have had this kind of attention when I was a kid!"  
Kagome raised a brow at her husband. "Well, he's a little more... wow. He's a lot more moody than you ever were, and for NO REASON!"  
Her mother clicked her tongue. "Weren't you saying this morning that Yousuke was fighting the War of High School?"  
"The War of What?" Inuyasha asked skeptically. His wife was staring out the window at the shrine complex. "Kagome?"  
"What time is it?"  
Inuyasha looked at his watch. "Just past four." His brows came together. "They usually come straight home, ne?" he asked.  
"Mm..." she asserted. Kagome got up and nervously wandered outside. Her husband followed. "Inuyasha," she rubbed her upper arms against the early spring chill, "I don't like this..."

**.x.**

Yousuke followed his ears and his nose towards the sounds of people and the smell of wood smoke. Soon, the little village came into view, surrounded by fields, brown and waiting for the warmer weather. He jogged into the heart of it just as the sun was setting. Villagers coming home from preparing the fields all whispered to each other and kept their distance from the white haired stranger.  
"Could it be...?  
"He's so young!"  
"Okaasan, is that a youkai...?"  
'Che,' Yousuke thought. 'Even here I get the same crap I get at school.' He was about to go into a heavy sulk when he remembered where he was. "Holy crap! They think I'm...!" He ran to the closest man. "Hey, Mister! Did you know my dad?"  
The man stuttered and tried to back away.  
"It's ok, I'm human. My dad is Inuyasha, did you know him?"  
"Inuyasha..." the villagers all whispered. "Remember?" "That was nigh two score years gone..." A tallish middle-aged man stepped forward.  
"Yes, I remember Inuyasha. He terrorized this village many years ago," Yousuke swallowed hard as the man paused, "but he then turned and saved us more times that I can count. He also defeated the vile evil which plagued us all. You are truly his son, I can see the resemblance." He bowed politely.  
Yousuke blushed a bit. "Nah, come on, I'm just a kid. You don't need to bow to me like that..."  
"Come! You must do us the honor of taking super with us!" The farmer smiled and clapped his large, meaty hand against the boy's backpack, nearly knocking him over.

**.x.**

Kagome surveyed the complex, looking intently at the steps which lead up from the street to the plateau the shrines and her house stood on. She frowned heavily and was about to turn to go back in when Inuyasha pointed.  
"What's that?"  
Kagome saw the books on the ground and ran over to them. "Misora...?" she asked softly, as if she was already aware that the girl would not answer.  
"Kagome..." Inuyasha jogged over to the well's shrine. "Better come over here."  
The boards which had been nailed shut over the lid of the well shortly after she and Inuyasha had come home to stay were shattered and lying all over the ground. There was no trace of her children. Kagome let out a devastated gasp and leaned against her husband for support. "No... both?" she whispered.  
Inuyasha sniffed the air lightly. "Yes."  
"I don't sense... how could... how could this happen!?" she cried. "We told them to never go in here, right?!" Kagome asked her husband, as if perhaps she had neglected to stress to her children how important a rule this was.  
He nodded, staring at the open well. One of the boards had been broken from the outside, the rest, from the inside, but there wasn't youkai scent on anything; just a musky, earthen smell coming from the well itself. Suddenly Kagome pulled away from him and, like the old days, vaulted into the opening.  
"Kagome, wait!"  
There was a dull thud. "Ahh!" she cried.  
"Kagome! You ok!?"  
"Ahhhhhhh my knee..." she sobbed.  
"Hold on!" Inuyasha ran out to get some rope.  
"How did this happen?" she asked herself. "Why has something taken my children? Why is this happening?" She remained in a state of semi-shock long after Inuyasha brought her up into the house.

**.x.**

In the morning, Yousuke ate only a small portion of the farmer's meal: a pile of smoked fish and some rice were a drastic change to the Frosted Flakes he had eaten nearly every morning of his life. Still a little tired and experiencing a bit of sugar withdrawal, he asked the people if they had seen a monster come out of his father's forest the day before.

"Oh, do you mean the land-octopus we saw yesterday?"

Yousuke's eyes popped at the farmer's wife's dead-pan delivery. "Maybe. All I saw was vines. Maybe they were tentacles…?"

"Mm yes, vines I should say. Like a vegetable octopus. It was moving pretty quickly, up along the tree-line yonder." The stout woman pointed. "We were a might scared, not having a Miko in this town for the better part of ten winters and all."

"My mom's a Miko…" Yousuke whispered. "Hey, wait. Isn't Kaede the Miko here?"

The farmer sighed. "She left this word, friend. I'm sorry."

"I never knew her," Yousuke admitted. "She was friends with my parents." He straightened up and looked at the slowly brightening horizon. "Which way did you say that… veg-octopus went?"

**.x.**

Just after dawn, Misora woke up, cold and stiff; two conditions she was not at all accustomed to. She whimpered and took in her surroundings. The room was stark, uninviting, un-lived-in. A thin futon separated her from the wooden floor-boards, but there were no other amenities in sight. "Mama… Baachan?" she whispered. "Papa…" Her tiny voice echoed back faintly. "Aniisan?"

"No one's here, girl," a voice hissed to her right. She squeaked and scrambled away from it.

"Who… who are you?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear.

The tall, dark, scraggily haired man dressed in a loose kimono seemed to not have full control of his body. He lurched forward a step and smiled sickly. An overwhelming mildew scent assaulted Misora. She held her hands to her face and tried to crawl further away without taking her eyes off of him. "You have it something I want..." He extended a hand, horribly twisted as if it had been broken and reset all wrong.

Misora screamed. "No! Stay away from me!!!"

From under the excessive folds of the kimono, several dark green vines slithered towards her. "The Shikon no Tama…Give it to me!"

Misora pressed herself into the corner and buried her face in her hands as the vines closed in. The scent soon became too much and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Two**

Yousuke ran. The farmer's wife had told him that the beast (which just HAD to be the one that took his sister) headed north. He ran past the fields and into the forest. He could plainly see the path the thing had taken, knocking down small trees and undergrowth as it went. He could only imagine with the farmer's wife's description that this monster was huge, tentacled and could move about as fast as a horse at full gallop.

'I won't catch them at this rate!' he thought and leaned further forward, pumping his arms as he bounded over fallen trees and rocks. Something didn't feel right. His legs burned from exertion, certainly, but more as if he were unused to running. He was his high-school's track star, so that was impossible. As he charged forward, Yousuke adjusted his style to fit the terrain and the strange pain in his legs.

When the sun was over his head, he stopped for a rest. Yousuke came upon a clearing and simply tucked into a roll and flopped down in the tall grass.

"Ahhhh!" he sighed. "That was great!" His heart raced, his lungs heaved, but a large smile spread across his face. He watched the clouds go by and slowly frowned as he remembered the task at hand. "Bet that monster doesn't hafta rest. Che," he snorted. 'What am I gonna do when I find this thing?' he thought suddenly. 'Can I take on a youkai with nothing but my bare hands?' Yousuke sat up and scratched his ear. "Gonna hafta try. I gotta find Misora." Once again, the boy started running. He kept his chest and head low, his arms almost at his sides as he sprinted through the woods, only occasionally raising them to scratch his ears.

"Damn. I must be allergic to all this country livin'," he snickered.

**.x.**

Mrs. Higurashi sat across from Inuyasha and stared at her daughter who stared into the darkness of her steadily over-brewing cup of tea. Inuyasha rubbed his hand absently over her back and watched the tea as if he expected it to give them all the answers to the questions that boiled in their brains.

"How…?" Kagome finally whispered. "Without the Shikon no Tama…?"

"Well," Inuyasha began, "I swallowed the thing…"

Slowly, his wife turned her head and gave him a look. "Are you suggesting that the Tama migrated its way from your… SEED," she cleaned up her phraseology for her mother's sake, "to our children!?"

"Do you have any better ideas?" he snipped back.

"Minna…" Mrs. Higurashi reached across the table and held Kagome's hand, staving off the oncoming argument. "Does it matter how they went through the well, or THAT they went through?"

"Sorry," Kagome slumped a little.

"Sorry." Inuyasha took her into his arms.

"Kaasan…" Kagome sighed, "This must be how you felt… when this happened to me."

She nodded. "And it was your fifteenth birthday, too."

"Sou!" Inuyasha straightened up. "That must be the connection! Before you were fifteen, you never sensed the Shikon no Tama, did you? So maybe that's why you didn't sense it in Yousuke. It was latent or something!"

"What if it wasn't in Yousuke…?" Kagome bit her lip. "Misora's gone, too."

**.x.**

As the light disappeared, Yousuke slowed to a jog and kept his eyes open for a suitable place to sleep. He had no tent and no blanket and the night air this spring was still cool. He knew if he slept on the ground he would awake damp and cold. The rocks were still chilly with the thaw. Just ahead he spied a fat, old tree with thick, low branches.

"That'll do," he said to himself and clamored his way up. Within moments, night fully descended and he was fast asleep.

**.x.**

From the outside, the palace seemed to have been long deserted, which in fact it had. Most travelers who stumbled upon it were overcome with a sense of unease or fear even before laying eyes on it. Such was the aura that the palace exuded.

Inside, Misora lay on the cold floor, unconscious. A small lamp burned a few feet away. It flickered as a long shadow appeared over the girl's body.

"So this is her?" a woman's voice lilted. "This is the bearer of the Shikon no Tama?"

"Yes," came the reply from the shadows.

"So why don't you have it in your hand?"

"It is more complicated than at first thought."

The woman snickered. "You mean you're not strong enough to get it from her?" Her mirth was short-lived as she suddenly choked and clutched her chest.

"Do not forget, Kagura, I am strong enough to squeeze your heart."

"Damn you!" she managed to gasp as he relaxed his grip.

"I may not be able to take the jewel from her…" he hissed as he slithered across the floor. "But I can use her power to my advantage."

"She's just a child…" Kagura scoffed.

"She is also a Miko." Vines spiraled out from the darkness and wrapped around Misora, lifting her a little into the air. "Wake up, Girl."

Misora stirred and immediately panicked. Both of her captors flinched as she shrieked.

"Make it stop!" Kagura covered her ears.

"Girl, what is it you most desire?"

Misora wailed, "I wanna go hoooooome!" The vines encircled her head.

"No, think deeper." Her eyes closed and she stopped resisting. "What is it you most desire? I will give it to you." He leaned closer, his half-decomposed, distorted face looking even more frightening in the scant light.

"Naraku," Kagura hissed, "What are you doing?"

He ignored her and probed the girl's brain.

"Aniisan…" she whispered. "Don't look down on me anymore, please…"

A satisfied grin spread across the hanyou's face. "So that's it then. Don't you worry, Girl. Your big brother will cower in fear when I'm done with you."

Kagura stepped back a few paces and grit her teeth as Naraku began his sorcery.

**.x.**

The dawn roused a cold Yousuke sometime around five. He watched the sky brighten for a while, trying to fathom all that had happened to him. When the thought of his sister in presumable peril wandered into his mind, he leapt down from the tree he had been sleeping in and started running, slowly at first so as to warm up. Within 20 minutes he was back to the break-neck pace he had been going at the day before. The trail was still fresh and leaned only little to the north-east.

Just before noon, Yousuke started getting hungry. The granola bar his mother always left in his backpack had been a poor dinner. "Aw man," he thought out loud. "Am I gunna hafta kill something?" He slowed his pace and listened carefully. He must have scared off any wild-life with his entrance. Deciding that his stomach wouldn't let him continue without fuel, he walked for a mile until the woods were more alive with activity. He saw squirrels and birds and rabbits, but had no idea how he was supposed to catch one and eat it.

The forest went suddenly very quiet. Yousuke stopped. 'I know I didn't make enough noise to do that…' he thought and looked around. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked up. 'That doesn't feel good…' He swallowed and tried not to move or breathe. The vegetation a few hundred yards behind him rustled. He squeezed his eyes shut. 'Don't be a youkai don't be a youkai don't be a youkai…'

A low rumble that echoed like thunder but sounded like a growl emanated from the thing approaching him. The desire to run was rising in him, but Yousuke took a deep breath and prepared himself. As the beast emerged, Yousuke remembered something he saw on the Discovery channel about bears and how although they may be fearsome, one can sometimes out-scare a bear by screaming at it.

The boy sucked in a breath and turned around. He didn't know how the hell he was going to out-scare a 30-story demonic fox, but he gave it a shot. Letting all the air out of his lungs, he screamed as loud and as ferociously as he could. The demon blinked twice, and much to his surprise didn't eat him. It leaned forward and took such a huge sniff that Yousuke's hair stood on end for a second. The fox narrowed its eyes. The thing's massive head was only inches from his face.

"Inuyasha?" the beast roared.

"Uh, No. My name's Yousuke." He sweat profusely and clenched his fists. Did this demon have a grudge against his father? Yousuke knew his father had known a kitsune youkai, but not a huge beast like this. Shippou was just a little boy in the stories his parents told. He always liked to hear about Shippou, but was always upset that he wasn't very strong. 'No!' he thought. 'This can't be the same youkai.'

A flash of blue flame surrounding the entire demon startled Yousuke. He fell on his behind in the grass. When he looked up again, standing, looking down over him was a teenaged boy with a long, fluffy, auburn tail. His feet were those of a fox, and his ears were pointed, but he wore a smile and a normal looking set of gi-pants and a kimono shirt. "Yousuke, ka?" the teen asked. "You sure look a lot like a friend of mine."

"Tha-that how you treat friends?!" Yousuke leapt up and cried.

"No." The teen frowned. "That's how I keep people outta my territory. Now scram."

Yousuke watched, astounded as the kitsune turned his back and started walking away. "Omae! You can't stop me from crossing this land! I'm on a mission! So screw you!" The kitsune stopped and looked back at the boy with a soft, wondering look that calmed him. Yousuke took a deep breath. "Were you friends with Inuyasha? Is that why you said that?"

"Yes I was."

'Dumbass!' Yousuke smacked himself internally. 'He was a little boy in the stories 'cause it's been 20 years!' "You're Shippou, aren't you?"

His eyes widened. "Yuh-yes!"

"I'm Kawano Yousuke, Inuyasha's son."

**.x.**

Many miles to the north, a swarm of youkai closed in on an abandoned palace. It hissed and seethed as it approached. In the mid-day sun, the building looked far blacker even that it did at night. From its shadows, a young woman emerged.

"Naraku sends a child to do his dirty work, does he?!" a large, foul beast cried from the front line. He was taller than the rest and seemed to represent the others' feelings. They jeered behind him. "We heard the bastard was back. We wants to see him with our own eyes!" he laughed and pointed to the plethora of yellow, sickly eyes which dotted his face. "Step aside, Child."

High above them, sitting on the roof, Kagura watched. "You best show me your worth, girl. I will kill you if fail," she whispered, her voice carried on the wind. The young woman nodded, raised two fingers and crouched down. As the horde of demons stumbled forward, she pounced. Her claws slashed every one of them clean through. In a matter of minutes, all that remained was a pile of corpses. She ripped a shirt off of one and dried her bloody hands.

"Very nice, Child," Kagura commended as she fluttered down to the ground.

"Do not call me child," she commanded with a voice like cold iron. Kagura shivered involuntarily.

"Very well. I shall call you Sorako."

Without changing her blank expression, Sorako turned and walked back into the palace.

"My gods, Naraku. This creature is nothing like us," Kagura whispered to herself. "What have you done?"

**.x.**

The phone rang at least four times before Inuyasha could get to it. He jogged into the living room and picked it up before the machine got it.

"Hello?"

"Inuyasha, Hi! It's Honda." 

"Oh, hey Miroku. What's up?"

"Just seeing about this Tuesday. Are we still on?"  
"What? Oh! Dinner. Oh… Well," Inuyasha walked into the kitchen, away from the stairwell. "Miroku, There's something you should know about…"

He told his friend about their children's disappearance.

Since Honda Miroku had knocked on their door with his sister Sango five years ago, they had been involved with the Kawano family. They brought with them a book in which the Sango and Miroku of the Sengoku Jidai had written about their adventures. It had been handed down through the generations of their family in order for it to make its way into Inuyasha and Kagome's hands in the future. Honda Sango and her brother, Honda Miroku were the direct descendants of the couple who had been such good friends with Kagome and Inuyasha all those years ago. The Hondas had, in the last five years become fast friends of the Kawanos.

While Inuyasha told of their plight, Kagome came slowly down the stairs. She winced as she heard the conversation. Just for five minutes, she'd like to not be reminded of her helplessness.

Inuyasha spied her and cupped the phone. "I think we should have them over as planned. I think we need something normal to do."

"I don't know…"

"Please, Kagome? Just for a little while even? Maybe it'll help." He gave his wife a pleading look. For three days now he had been unable to cheer her.

"Ok," she shrugged and made for the tea pot.

"Ok, Miroku. We'll see you guys then. Ja." Inuyasha hung up the phone and laced his arms around his wife's middle. "Thanks."

"What for?"

"For humoring me."

"Sure, but I can't see how it can possibly help to have dinner guests."

**.x.**

Shippou and Yousuke talked for hours till it began to get dark. The boy told him what happened in the well and his quest for his sister. He also astounded the kitsune with stories about what Inuyasha and Kagome were like nowadays.

"He's a construction worker!?" Shippou bellowed.

"What's so funny about that?!" Yousuke frowned.

"Nothing! I just can't, I don't… That's so WEIRD!"

"You think that's weird? This is pretty weird right here. I never thought this would actually happen, all those years I hoped and dreamed that it would. I used to think my life was so boring; that there was something else more important I was supposed to be doing…"

"You don't anymore?" Shippou asked, getting up.

"I don't know," he whined.

"Well, let's cash in. I've got a little cave up around here. We'll start out early tomorrow."

Yousuke stood and looked at his new friend strangely. "We?"

"Yeah! You kiddin? Think I'd let Inuyasha's son have fun without me!?" he laughed and jogged ahead. Yousuke shrugged, smiled and jogged after him.

**.x.**

Yousuke woke the next morning after an unusually uncomfortable sleep. Once again, dawn had not quite arrived yet. He noticed that Shippou was still snoozing on the other side of the smoldering fire in his quaint, little cave. Yousuke stretched and went to the cave opening. As he brought his hand up to scratch his ear, he gasped. His ear was gone. A huge shudder rippled through him. His hands felt different too. Bringing them up before his eyes, he studied them closely. The fingernails were long and sharp. As if still in a dream, he snapped his fingers to see if they were in fact his. He heard the sound of the snap as if he had never heard anything before.

'If I can hear…' he thought in a panic. 'Where are my ears!?' His hands wandered to the top of his head.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"What what what!?" Shippou shouted as he leapt up. "What's goin' on?!"

"What the hell happened to me!?" Yousuke shouted and faced his friend.

"Woah," Shippo breathed and circled him. "When'dja get them?"

"And these!" He held up his clawed hands.

"Now you look JUST like your dad!"

Yousuke stopped panicking. "I do?"

"Well, his hair was a bit longer and such, but yeah."

"But I'm not a hanyou. Dad's been human for like 20 years!"

"Well, something about being here has brought out the youkai blood in you. There's no doubt about it."

Yousuke's chest swelled a bit at this statement. "Yeah," he thought and ran out of the cave. He leapt 60 feet straight up into a tree in one bound and nearly scared himself to falling when he slashed out at a branch with his new-found claws, severing it. "This rocks!" he shouted.

Shippou laughed at him. "Ok, Junior, time to hit the road. We have a sister to save."

They ran along the forest floor and bounded off trees together for miles till they got hungry. Yousuke was glad he was with someone who actually knew how to hunt. The boys began stalking some foul when both of them felt something amiss.

They exchanged looks and moved closer together. Yousuke's ears swiveled towards a stray sound. "Get down!" he shouted and pushed Shippou out of the way, just as four, thin throwing knives whizzed through the air where his head had been. They planted instead into a tree. Yousuke bounded after the attacker and Shippou followed.

"Come back here, coward!" Yousuke shouted. Finally, he saw a dark shape flicker between some trees. He anticipated the next move and popped up right where the attacker was headed next.

The ninja looked very surprised by the grinning hanyou, but punched him and took to the trees just as quickly. Yousuke followed closely and before long was ahead of the ninja again. With a quick leg he swept the ninja's feet out from under him and he fell to the forest floor, some 30 feet below.

Yousuke jumped down on top of him. "Hiya. Wanna tell me why you want us dead?" He reached out quickly and stopped the ninja's hand from distributing more of those little knives.

Shippou came upon the scene, stopped, looked and smirked. "Well well well. Seems like you've learned nothing in the last five years, Nanaka."

While he was distracted, the ninja pushed Yousuke off and jumped up.

"Nice to see you too, Shippou-kun." The ninja pulled down her mask and shook the grass out of her long, red pony tail. She looked to be about 17 or so, but the bridge of her nose was dotted with freckles, giving her a more youthful appearance. She was dressed as a ninja in dusty, black with brown armor plates at her shoulders, elbows, knees and waist. Four more throwing knives were tucked under the breast plate and a katana hung at her side.

"You know her?" Yousuke asked, skeptically.

"Know her? I trained her." He turned to the girl "I didn't realize I was so far into your territory. I apologize for the intrusion." He bowed low.

"Don't be a jerk. Come on. Lunch is probably nearly ready." With that she turned and led them out of the woods and onto a path. "So who's your little friend?"

Yousuke bristled a bit at the comment. Shippou laughed again. "His name's Yousuke. And watch it with the 'little', he kicked your ass back there, Nanaka, he could do it again."

She clenched her fists, but kept her comments to herself. A large village came into view. "Do you want lunch or not, Shippou-kun?"

Again, Shippou laughed. Yousuke noticed Nanaka's freckles disappear under her blush.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Three**

The forest path wove steadily upwards. As they ascended, the flora changed with the elevation. Just as the trees thinned the village came into view. On the hill was a fort-like enclosure made of tree trunks with pointed ends. The gates were slightly open and a few people came and went with bundles and carts full of firewood and jars and boxes with unknown contents. One cart being pulled by three men was laden with huge bones, still freshly coated in blood and sinew.

The men called to Nanaka as she led her friends in. To Yousuke's surprise, they encountered no opposition, despite both young men being obviously inhuman. As they neared the village temple, a child's voice rang out from across the way.

"Oneesan!"

Soon, a small army of children swarmed out from the shade of nearby building and surrounded the girl. She held her chin up high and offered them a satisfied smirk. "Yosh' yosh'," she waved and they backed off.

"Did you get it, Oneesan? Did you get the Tengu's claw!?"

"Does a bear shit in the woods?" she flashed a toothy grin and pulled a large claw from the folds of her costume. Her siblings ogled it and all demanded she tell them the story of her hunt.

"Nanaka-chan, you ought not to curse in front of your younger siblings," a smooth, pleasant male voice made her spin in place. Her grin had turned to a large pout.

"Nioumaru…" she hissed.

"Aniisan!" the group of children chimed and clustered around Nioumaru. Yousuke blinked repeatedly. Shippou merely waited.

Nanaka's older brother Nioumaru was tall, graceful and charming. The younger siblings bustled around him. He picked one of the little ones up and put him on his shoulders. They asked him to play with them and he agreed. When they had gone Nanaka made an exasperated sound and stormed off towards the temple.

Yousuke blinked some more. "What was that all about?"

"Sibling rivalry," Shippou replied and rolled his eyes. "Nothing changes."

They caught up with Nanaka and entered the temple. A man in Buddhist robes was praying at the altar with his back to them. They too kneeled and bowed. From a door on the left a woman entered carrying a vase of fresh spring flowers.

"Ah, Nanaka, welcome home. And Shippou…" She smiled, but suddenly the look changed to one of utter disbelief. The vase fell to the floor.

The priest leapt up and spun around. "What's the matter?!" Then he gawked at them as well. "Can it be…?"

"Okaasan? Otousan? Daijoubu? You ok?" Nanaka asked in a half-panic.

Shippou smirked. "No guys. It's not him. This is Yousuke: Inuyasha's son.

Yousuke cocked his head to the side and was suddenly overtaken with wave of nausea. He backed up and leaned against the wall.

All the while he had been in this time, everything had been so foreign, so other. Now, standing in the Buddhist shrine (reminiscent of his family's Shinto shrine) in front of these people, he felt lost and lonely. The couple approached him. "Yousuke?" they asked.

"Honda-san?" he whispered and slid down the wall.

**.x.**

"Thank you so much for coming, guys," Inuyasha let the Hondas in to his house. Kagome was in the next room.

"How are you?" Miroku asked very seriously.

"I'm ok, sort of." He smiled a little.

Sango handed him a bottle of wine. "I really hope this is ok, I mean…"

"Nee-san," Miroku took his sister's coat and whispered to her. "Remember when Tousan died and Kaasan didn't go out or talk to any of her friends for a long time? That's not healthy. We're here to help."

They had a pleasant dinner, but avoided any reference to the children. Their pictures hung silently on the wall, watching over them. Finally, as the adults sipped their coffee, the tension broke.

"I'm so sorry," Sango reached out and took her friend's hand. Kagome pursed her lips, but said nothing. "I wish there was something we could do."

"There's really no getting through the well?" Miroku asked Inuyasha. He shook his head. "It seems so hopeless…"

Kagome lifted her head up, the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. "I don't even know if they're alive."

Sango gave her brother a scathing look for upsetting their hostess, which he ignored. He was too busy staring at the tablecloth. "I don't know what I would do if MY kids vanished."

Sango gritted her teeth. "Well," she chimed. "If they find Sango and Miroku from the Sengoku Jidai, maybe they'll write about them in the book!"

Everyone's attention snapped to the woman. She looked surprised that those words had come from her mouth. "Well, assuming that they would…"

"The book!!" Kagome and Inuyasha shouted and ran from the room. Their surprised guests followed them.

The storage shed was cold, and lit by a few bare bulbs. Here, the shrine keepers kept spiritual items not always used in daily ritual. In an engraved box in the center of the room lay the book. Inuyasha fumbled with it, flipping the pages right to left to the back where almost one third of the book was blank.

Every year at midnight on New Years Eve the Kawano family would gather and watch as the book delivered its annual message to them. Through the years they had read about Sango and Miroku's large family and their efforts to revitalize the Taijiya Village that Sango and her father and brother had called home. They turned to the last entry and sighed. The entry was four months and nearly 500 years old.

"It was worth a shot," Inuyasha gave a sad sort of laugh.

"Let's take it into the house. Like Sango-san said, maybe they WILL write in it. The Taijiya Village is a long way from here. Maybe the children haven't gotten there yet." Kagome's eyes sparkled. As Inuyasha locked the door behind them he knew that they hadn't been given an answer, but they had been given hope. He whispered to his friends.

"Thanks, guys!"

**.x.**

"Yousuke!?" Shippou's voice sounded half concerned and half amused. The boy opened his eyes. All four of them were staring at him from above. He clamored to his feet.

"Are you all right?" Miroku asked.

"I guess I'm hungrier than I thought," he muttered, trying to conceal his shaking hands. "You're Miroku… the REAL Miroku? And Sango?" he asked.

"The real?"

"In our time, I know Honda Miroku and Honda Sango. They're your descendents."

Husband and wife exchanged gleeful glances. "That means you received the book all right."

"Oh yeah, we read it every New Years…" As Shippou and the family went on about how glad they were that the Sengoku O Togi Zoushi book had arrived safely 500 years later, Yousuke appeared to swoon again. "That means…"

"Perhaps you should sit down," Sango advised.

Yousuke grasped her arm. "Where is it? I can write to them!"

Miroku jogged across the room and waved him to follow. "It's in here." Inside a plain wooden box was the book looking significantly newer than he had last seen it. "What do you mean, you can write to them?"

Quickly, Yousuke explained his plight, of his sister's disappearance and his transformation and begged them to write a message to his parents.

"Oh! Poor boy! Of course!" Sango took the quill and inkwell out of the same box and made to begin writing.

"Wait!" Everyone looked at Yousuke. "Please, don't tell them about my sister. I'll get her back. I don't want them to worry."

Sango nodded. "Kagome, Inuyasha. Your children are here. I will write again later, signed Sango," she spoke as she wrote the words. "That should do without outwardly lying."

Miroku had yet to take his eyes from his friend's son. "Now, tell me more about your sister's disappearance."

**.x.**

After he had told them all he knew about Misora's disappearance and gotten more than enough food to stave off his hunger, Yousuke listened to the adults' advice.

"Since your parents left this world," Miroku began, "A lot has changed; suffice to say that a world without Naraku is a much better place to live in."

"However," his wife added, "that doesn't mean it's been peaceful. Times are changing. We settled back in this village many years ago, and although the demon extermination business is still our priority, these walls around the town serve as a barrier against other humans too. There have been more wars recently than I can count. And the youkai…" She rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with them?" Yousuke asked. "We don't exactly have that many left to worry about in our time. Until I met Shippou, I hadn't even met one."

"It's not the individual youkai that are the problem, Yousuke." Miroku took a sip of tea. "Like the humans, they've been forming crude armies. Whole masses of youkai have been grouping together. Some even join their bodies together forming huge behemoths."

Yousuke made a face as he pictured a beast with lots of mish-mashed limbs and eyes.

"We believe that…" Sango looked to her husband for approval. "It might be because the Shikon no Tama is gone. The balance of power is off. It won't be long now before the really violent, power-hungry youkai are totally exterminated either by us, themselves or the human armies."

"Wow." Yousuke hugged his knees. "So, do you think this vine monster is one of those bow-he-muth things?"

"It could just be a regular youkai. It does seem strange that it was able to reach through the well like that. Perhaps…" Sango looked to Miroku again who finished her thought.

"Perhaps the Shikon no Tama has returned… Perhaps that's what this thing was after."

Shippou slapped his hand on the floor. "You don't mean?!..."

"Perhaps…" Sango frowned. "Perhaps your little sister carries it now."

"The Shikon no Tama…" Yousuke paled. "In Misora?"

Nanaka gasped involuntarily. "Ah!" Shippou shouted. "Too bad we don't have a Miko in the house. I bet that's why you changed, Yousuke. Maybe your sister has half of it and so do you. That's why you could get through the well!"

Yousuke put his hand to his chest and grit his teeth. "I gotta save my sister."

To their surprise Nanaka leapt to her feet. "Don't worry, kid. We'll help!" she beamed a self-assured smile at him.

Sango got up and cleared the tea dishes away. "You'll stay the night. In the morning we'll all go and find this vine monster of yours."

"Kaaaasaaaannnn!" Nanaka whirled and moaned. "You guys aren't coming!"

"Nanaka, don't be ridiculous…"

"I'm not!" She stomped her foot. Yousuke blinked and scooted back a few feet. "You got to go on adventures when you were my age. I never get to do anything without one of you trying to 'help' me!"

"That's not true, you just went to get that Tengu claw all by yourself." Miroku folded his arms and frowned back.

"Feh! Your son thinks he's so clever, as if I couldn't tell he was tagging along and spying on me the whole time!"

"Which son is this? I have six, you know." Miroku's frown grew steadily deeper. Sango closed her eyes and clutched the tray full of mugs.

"NIOUMARU! That's why I jumped Yousuke and Shippou. I thought they were him again. I was going to teach him a thing or three with a throwing knife right between the…"

Sango had heard enough. "Nanaka!" The tone of her voice and the slight clank of the crockery she was holding made Yousuke jump. He noticed Shippou was staring off at a distant wall as if waiting for it to be over. "How dare you?! You can be so ungrateful. Your father and I went on a very dangerous and important adventure because we had to. And we went alone because our parents were dead. We would have done anything for them to be by our side! How can you treat us so when all we want to do is protect you?"

"I am ungrateful." Nanaka clenched her fists. "I don't know what it's like to fight for myself… and if you never let me go I will never know!" Rather than storm out, Nanaka waited. She stared into her mother's eyes.

Sango turned around and took the tray out of the room. "Fine. Go. Now."

"Fine!"

When Sango disappeared into the next room, Yousuke finally took a breath. Miroku hadn't taken his eyes from his daughter yet. "You better be gone before she comes back. Take some supplies from the community chest."

"Tousan…" Nanaka blinked at him for a moment as if she had come out of a trance.

"And take Kirara."

"Touuuusaaaannn…"

"Do it."

She turned and led the boys out of the house.

"Nanaka," her father called after her. She turned and looked into his softened eyes. "May Buddha be with you."

**.x.**

The girl marched in the direction of the communal supply shed. Yousuke took the opportunity to come out of his own trance. "Ok. Are we totally screwed now?"

"Huh?" Shippou seemed to still be lost in one as well.

"We coulda had THEE Sango and Miroku helping us out, and now we get their bratty daughter instead?" he sneered.

"She's a better fighter than her mother ever was. Don't sell Nanaka short just yet." Shippou laughed a little. "Besides, those two have been sitting on their laurels for a decade or so. Miroku is just a priest, Sango had ten kids. We'd just be waiting for them to catch their breath all the time, probably. With Kirara to transport Nanaka, we won't be slowed down."

Yousuke shrugged. "If you say so..." He turned as Shippou nodded.

"Speaking of Kirara…" The small, cat youkai was bouncing along towards them, mewing in greeting. She leapt up into Shippou's arms. "This is Inuyasha and Kagome's son, Yousuke. Yousuke, meet Kirara."

He slowly stuck out his hand for her to sniff. "I didn't think cats liked dogs…"

"She liked your father well enough."

Sure enough, she leapt up onto his shoulder and purred contentedly. "Cute," he said and scratched her under the chin. When they caught up with Nanaka she had already filled a small pack with some supplies and was heading back towards them. She huffed as she saw the cat youkai perched on Yousuke's shoulder.

"Well, which direction are we headed in, anyway?"

"West. The rumors of the vine monster come mostly from the Western Lands."

Yousuke secured his own backpack. "Hey, that's where Sesshoumaru's from, right?"

They walked through the town's gates. "Yeah, but I think Sesshoumaru hasn't been taking very good care of them. Everyone's at war these days. When your grandfather was alive they say it was a really stable time for demons and humans. He had a really tight hold on his lands."

Yousuke became lost for a moment, thinking about how close he was to the heritage he had only dreamt of. "Misora…" he whispered, as if reminding himself. "Here, Nanaka, you take Kirara and follow us as we run." He handed her the tiny cat. Nanaka folded her arms. Kirara hissed and spit.

"Come on, you two," Shippou groaned. "We have an important mission, here. Yousuke's sister is lost. Kirara, you must carry Nanaka. Nanaka, be nice."

Grudgingly, the cat flared up and transformed into a massive, saber toothed youkai and let Nanaka mount her. The four set out towards the rumors of the vine monster's origin.

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Four**

The landscape changed from hilly and rocky to smooth and deeply forested. From her position high up on Kirara, Nanaka spied a village. She called down to her friends the direction to go. When she looked back up, a large burst of flame and a massive tree falling in the woods ahead caught her eye. She descended and informed the party.

It was decided that Nanaka should scout ahead; being that she was the stealthiest of the group. Kirara reduced herself and clung to Yousuke's shoulder. The boys followed Nanaka.

Just ahead, they could hear groans and screams of an unholy nature. "Must be a demon fight," Shippou reckoned. "These days youkai fight youkai all the time."

Yousuke swallowed hard. Even with his recent transformation he didn't quite feel confident that he could do well in a fight with a youkai. They only ones he'd met so far had been friendly. What would a true enemy be like?

Nanaka appeared beside him suddenly, scaring him half out of his wits. "Seven of them are fighting just one other. It seems that they're fairly strong, but their opponent is playing with them."

"We should just avoid this. No need to get mixed up in stuff if it's not the demon we're looking for," Shippou advised. Yousuke nodded.

"You may want to rethink that plan…" said Nanaka, hooking a thumb in the scuffle's direction. "They're coming this way."

Just as they were about to flee, another large tree was felled only feet from them. A red, horned oni with tiger stripes and a whip-like tail tumbled out of the splintered tree and got up to prepared for another onslaught. Two of his brethren ran out of the forest towards him.

"Too much!" one shouted.

"Retreat!" the other cried.

Yousuke and his friends watched as anxiously as the oni for their opponent to emerge. The youkai was slim, not quite five and a half feet tall, of fair complexion and startlingly human looking. Her ears were pointed, her eyes were amber and her nails were clawed and covered in a greenish fluid. She walked forward with a totally blank expression on her face. The oni screamed and made to flee again.

"Three left," she stated with a hollow, deep voice. The youkai leapt effortlessly into the air, coming down on top of one of the escaping oni. She slashed his throat with one hand then using him as a springboard, flipped through the air towards his companions. Her heel found one's neck, pinning him to the ground and snapping it like a twig. The last one turned to watch and ran into a tree. The youkai approached slowly.

"One left."

"No! Mercy!" it hissed.

"No mercy," she repeated, turning his words against him. She stabbed him in the chest with her claws, her palm facing up. When she removed it, the oni slid down the trunk to the ground.

The youkai turned and stared at the newcomers. It seemed to Yousuke that she was staring at him. 'No, come on baka, get it together!' he scolded himself. Shippou raised his hands.

"We don't want any trouble with you. Just passing through."

She totally ignored him. It was now obvious to everyone that she was in fact staring straight at Yousuke.

"You," she pointed to him. "You have the other half. Give it to me."

**.x.**

"The other half of what?" Yousuke barked back. He let his backpack slip to the ground. Had this been the play yard at his school, a large crowd would have gathered and his opponent would have started to sweat, knowing there would be a serious beating in store. This woman didn't so much as bat an eye. Yousuke bristled.

Shippou clenched his teeth. He had hoped that he could have gotten a chance to see what Yousuke was made of before they had to fight an actual battle. Yousuke's father had been incredibly strong, but he had also been a hanyou all his life, and owned a particularly nice sword. Yousuke had neither of this things going for him. It didn't take long for the kitsune to make up his mind. In a flare of blue flame he transformed into the huge fox Yousuke had first met him as. Nanaka gasped and retreated a few steps.

"Shippou-kun!" she gasped, astounded.

"You'll have to get through me!" he snarled at their foe. This seemed fine with her. She leapt up and slashed him across the bridge of the nose with her claws. Too slow to swat her away, he jumped back and breathed blue flame at her. The youkai was engulfed in what looked like the hottest of flames. She wasn't falling for the kitsune-bi illusion. Unfazed, she walked towards him to attack again.

"My turn!" Yousuke ran in front of her and took a fighting stance. She came at him in the same mechanical way she had attacked Shippou. With motions as fluid as water, Yousuke grabbed her arm and flipped her on her back. He twisted the arm to the breaking point. "What the hell do you want from me?" he snarled with his sneaker firmly planted on her neck.

"The Shikon no Tama. You possess half of it," she intoned. Her face was like a mask and her eyes were yellow, but dull.

In his shock, Yousuke dropped his guard. She slashed at his leg, forcing him to jump back. The youkai back-flipped and came at him again. Yousuke dodged her punches, spinning this way and that. Finally, he caught one of her wrists in his crossed arms and threw her into the defensive. He faked low and landed a punch square in her face. With blinding speed, he swept her legs out from under her and uppercut her into the air. She crashed into a tree head-first and fell motionless.

Yousuke caught his breath and turned to his astounded friends. "Let's get outta here before she wakes up."

Shippou changed back in to his true form. "But, shouldn't we ask her…?"

"I have a bad feeling about this chick," Yousuke muttered. "I was lucky to knock her out. She's incredibly powerful."

"But," Nanaka started, bewildered that they weren't going to question the youkai. Shippou stretched out his hand to silence her. She pouted and folded her arms. His brows were furrowed, but there was understanding in his voice. "If what she says is true," he said, "she'll find us again."

**.x.**

A few moments later, a large shadow fell over Sorako.

"Tsk tsk," Kagura clicked her tongue at her as the enormous feather she was riding shrunk down. "Double knock out against these weaklings? And here I thought you were strong."

Sorako slowly sat up in the splintered remains of the tree and watched as Kagura made her rounds to the fallen oni's bodies. She uncorked a small bottle she carried and a thin wisp floated up and away from one of the bodies. "At least you were good enough to gather more youki for the master. Perhaps he won't uncreate you."

"He cannot uncreate me," Sorako monotoned as she stood. Kagura shivered involuntarily.

"Of course he can, you impudent little shit. He made you."

In reply, she simply stared at Kagura with her dull, unblinking eyes.

Kagura sighed heavily. "What do I care? If you get beat up so easily, perhaps you won't be long for this world. Don't hold any hope that I'll come to your rescue, either, you freak. I won't do anymore than I am instructed to do for him." She finished taking all seven souls and enlarged her feather. She took to the wind, leaving Sorako behind.

**.x.**

No one questioned Yousuke further as they fled to a safe distance from the strange youkai.

Nanaka stepped onto the cart path and noted the sound of people up ahead. "We must be close to a village," she said, smelling the wood smoke on the air. "Not more than a mile off that way." She jogged ahead and met up with a small group of farmers bringing their produce to the town. She jogged back to the others after a few minutes.

"We're in luck," she said with a grin. "Those folks say they've heard tell of a vine monster, huge and moving fast through the forest towards the northwest just a couple of days ago."

"Then the trail hasn't gone cold yet," Shippou folded his arms behind his head. Kirara chirped from her post on Yousuke's shoulder.

"Mmm," he hummed in agreement. The strange youkai's dull yellow eyes haunted him. He knew that she held some key to his sister's whereabouts, but she had disturbed him so badly he couldn't think of turning around and going after her again. A hand fell on his other shoulder.

"Hey, how bout you and me spar a little before we hit this town?"

"Spar?" Yousuke blinked up at Shippou. "You mean it?"

Nanaka sighed melodramatically. "Well, while you boys have fun, I'll be scouting for clues."

"Sounds good," Shippou smiled at her, making her turn quickly to hide her blush. Only Yousuke seemed to notice, but kept his thoughts to himself. "Why don't you take Kirara with you?"

"I suppose…" she grumbled.

The youkai cat sat still on Yousuke's shoulder. "It's ok, Kirara. Go ahead."

Shippou laughed. "I think she likes you, Yousuke!"

Reluctantly, she jumped down and caught up with Nanaka.

"Baka neko," Nanaka hissed.

**.x.**

At the abandoned palace, the dark atmosphere reflected the dark mood perfectly. Kagura leaned against a far wall and watched Sorako as she entered the room. She sat on her folded knees in front of what looked like an over-grown and uncared for houseplant. It stirred.

"Kagura, I am very disappointed."

Kagura gasped in irritation. "Me?!" she shouted. "I did what you asked. It's your little zombie over there that should be the disappointment."

"Silence. You are to work as a team. I will not have one abandoning the other."

Kagura folded her arms but did not reply.

"Sorako. I have something that will help you greatly in your search and destroy mission." The vines slithered sickly and presented something wrapped in fabric to the girl. "I would not trust Kagura with it, as it has a nasty habit of taking over a person's soul to do its own bidding." He unwrapped the cloth to reveal a large broadsword. "But since you don't have a soul…"

She took the sword in her hand and stood up.

"You'll find it quite useful. Now go and collect me more souls. I must have more power."

"Yes, master," Sorako looked at her own reflection in the blade and turned it just slightly so she could see the reflection of a body lying in a dark corner of the room.

**.x.**

A few hours later, Yousuke and Shippou caught up with Sorako at an outdoor sake booth. She was happily munching on some rice balls which she offered her companions. She informed them of what she had learned.

"This town is famous for youkai traffic. I've actually been here before to do extermination. You can see they've had a visitor recently." She hooked a thumb in the direction of a barn being repaired. It had obviously had something large step on it. "The vine monster came through here at the northern edge of town and made a bee-line for the northwest only two nights ago."

"Sounds like our man," Shippou crammed the last of the onigiri in his mouth. He felt someone staring at him and turned his head quickly. A little girl with a blue cloth wrapped over head ducked out of sight. He chuckled to himself. 'I'm jumpy still…' "Need a rest first, Yousuke?"

"I don't think we get one…" he growled and pointed to the sky. The wind picked up as the oversized feather landed in the street in front of them. People scattered as Sorako jumped down and approached Yousuke.

"Sorako! What is the meaning of this? We have a job to do!" Kagura moaned from her seat. "Oh hoho… So there are youkai here. Very well, do your best. I'll just watch you get beaten again."

"I won't lose," she muttered and drew the sword.

'Kagura…' Shippou thought and grit his teeth. 'What does she have to do with all of this!?'

Yousuke slid his backpack off again and clapped his hands. "I won't be so lenient with you this time, Sorako was it? I'm Yousuke. Remember that!" he shouted and charged her. She leapt back a few times, dodging his swipes and finally stood her ground. She pulled the sword around and thrust it at him. Yousuke laughed briefly, but as the sword began to glow, he felt the power it was giving off.

"Masaka, it can't be!" Shippou gasped.

"What it that thing?!" Nanaka cried as light arched around the blade.

"Yousuke! Run!" Shippou called out too late. Waves of energy sharp as knives flew off the sword and lacerated the boy over and over. He screamed and was pushed back into the side of a building by the force. Sorako let it droop and approached the wreckage.

Much to her surprise, a smoke grenade went off under her foot and a masked face appeared in front of her own. "Give me that sword!" Nanaka shouted, grabbed her arm and punched Sorako square in the face. She didn't seem to notice. Sorako slashed out with her claws, slicing Nanaka's wrist guard and forcing her back. She leveled the sword at her. The blade came down, but bisected an illusion of the girl. Sorako looked left and right. Shippou and Nanaka were crouched on the top of a nearby building a few yards away.

"Thanks…" Nanaka whispered.

"You shouldn't get anywhere near that thing…"

"I can fight!"

"Not against THAT sword. We have to get Yousuke the hell out of there…"

"You should learn to stay out of other people's business!" Kagura shouted and spread her fan out. "See how you like my nice new poison darts, human!" She thrust the fan out and a dozen or so sliver-like projectiles at Nanaka and Shippou. They leapt away, but one of them nicked Nanaka's now unprotected wrist.

"Nanaka!" Shippou cried as he saw the dart hit her.

"Ha!" the ninja laughed. "You gotta try better than that." She pulled the needle like dart out and threw it down. "I'm not susceptible to even one poison in the whole of Japan!" She answered with a volley of her own throwing knives which Kagura blocked with a gust of wind.

"Insolent bitch," Kagura seethed, but her attention was drawn to Sorako as she approached the wrecked building.

Sorako stepped into the remains. "This sword…" she mumbled. "It can find you. Why is that?" she asked no one in particular. "There you are." She pointed it right at him. "Give it to me; the other half of the Shikon no Tama."

Kagura's eyes widened. "What?" she hissed. 'The boy has another half? Is that why Naraku can't use it?' she wondered.

"What do you mean, OTHER half?!" he shouted as he struggled to his feet. "Who's got the first one? My sister?! Do you have her, Sorako? Where is she?!"

In response, Sorako lifted the sword again. Yousuke clenched his teeth and prepared for the worst. He shut his eyes, certain that death was a breath away. When nothing happened, he opened one eye and stared. Sorako had a very strange expression on her face, as if she were wondering or lost. She looked left and right again and started walking away.

"What the..?" Yousuke cautiously jumped out of the ruined building and watched her. She walked up to a nearby paddock and jumped the fence. The first cow she reached, Sorako put her arms around its neck and planted a huge kiss on its nose. It mooed back.

Shippou and Nanaka jumped down from their perch. "What is going on with this lunatic?!" Nanaka asked, bewildered. The boys just shook their heads.

Kagura stared, slack jawed at the scene. "I don't believe it," she moaned. "The bitch lost again!"

"Kagura!" Shippou shouted and threw a small acorn at her. It exploded into an enormous burst of light. She shrieked and rubbed her blinded eyes.

"Quickly, everyone!" Shippou and Kirara transformed into their full size and fled the scene. Yousuke shivered and looked behind them. Leaning against the side of the ruined building was a young woman in a short, red kimono. She had long white hair and little ears on the top of her head like his. She smiled and waved, then disappeared.

"Uh… Who…?" Yousuke debated saying something about the woman, but rubbed his head instead. They set off to the north.

They touched down at the furthest edge of town and waited till Kagura and Sorako flew over them. Once they were sure they were safe, they hit the trail again. A few moments passed awkwardly. Shippou mulling over Kagura and the sword and Yousuke mulling over more clues about his sister and the strange hanyou woman left Nanaka to wonder in silence.

A little old woman walking in their direction on the path suddenly blocked their way. "Please," she began in a sweet voice. "You're the group that just defeated that youkai, aren't ye? Would you do this one the honor of taking tea with me? It's been so long since we've had visitors."

"Uh, sure. I don't see why not!" Shippou beamed at the thought of more free food.

"If you lose the disguise, yes." Nanaka put her hands on her hips. "I'm surprised at you Shippou-kun. Not knowing a fellow kitsune when you see one."

The old woman giggled lightly. "You're very observant, young miss. You must have seen me earlier. I should have changed the dress, too." She flared blue for a moment and standing before them was a kitsune youkai woman with a big, bushy tail and pointy ears like Shippou's. She smiled and extended the invitation again. "My name is Hideko. Please, spare a moment for some tea with me?"

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Five**

The house was tiny, only had perhaps two rooms and was sparsely decorated. There were herbs hanging from the rafters and a thin, earthy layer of dust covering everything, giving the place a dry, yet warm and homey feel. Shippou, Nanaka and Yousuke knelt on the floor. Kirara sat in Yousuke's lap and growled lightly.

"It's ok, Kirara," he reassured her and himself. The kitsune woman made tea and asked Shippou about his family. When the tea was finally poured, they had established that they were cousins.

"It was a shame to hear about your parents. The thunder brothers were killed shortly after that, weren't they?"

"Yeah, this kid's father took them out." Shippou bowed his head and stared into his tea, remembering the past.

Yousuke looked up from his own tea and noticed that their hostess was staring at him.

"Could I ask, if your father would be Inuyasha?" When Yousuke nodded, Hideko leaned forward and gripped his clawed hands with her own. "Please, have you heard any news of his brother, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"Sesshoumaru?" Nanaka asked.

"My dad hasn't been in..." Yousuke corrected himself. "We live very, very far away. I've never met the guy."

"I see..." The hopeful look faded from Hideko's face.

"You know him?" Shippou asked.

"I had the honor for over two centuries of being a servant of his house."

Shippou fidgeted. "And no longer? I heard his empire's fallen into disarray. Has he really abandoned his rule over the western lands?"

"I'm afraid that is true..." Just behind Hideko at the door to the other room, a figured appeared. Shippou recognized the little girl as the one who had hidden from him in town earlier. She was clutching a blanket and sleepily rubbing her eye.

"Hideko-san," she yawned, "I'm done with my nap..."

Everyone stared at the child. She had, long white hair and two small dog's ears on the top of her head. She couldn't be more than five or six years old. She also bore a five centimeter long red stripe down the middle of her forehead.

Hideko turned around. "Oujosama!" she cried.

Yousuke dumped Kirara out of his lap as he jumped to his feet. Shippou and Nanaka were speechless. "Hanyou..." Yousuke whispered. The girl took a step back, automatically throwing the blanket over her head. Yousuke knew he had frightened her. "It's ok..." He went to his knees again and smiled. "Come here. It's ok. See." He tugged on his own ears.

"It's all right, Oujosama. This is your Lord Cousin, Yousuke."

The girl tentatively stepped forward and rubbed his ears with her tiny hands. She giggled with delight.

"Cousin? Then she's not yours?" Nanaka asked.

"I escaped with My Lord's daughter before the chaos that followed his departure. She is the child of My Lord and his human wife, Rin."

Shippou's jaw fell. He withheld his comments till Hideko had ushered the little girl back into her room.

"I can't believe he married Rin. When I knew him, he didn't think very highly of Inuyasha's heritage."

"Love changes everything," Hideko said with a sad smile.

"Hideko, is Sesshoumaru dead?" Shippou asked in a grave whisper.

The kitsune woman's tears welled up. "I fear it is so, but my heart does not want to dwell on it."

Shippou folded his arms. "I'm sorry but after today, I think he's gone."

Nanaka pursed her lips. "You mean that girl...?"

"No, the sword. That Sorako person had Toukijin."

Hideko gasped. The tears rolled down her face. "Then he is dead. He would never have parted with that sword." She got up and fetched something from a chest on the opposite side of the room. "Nor would he have done this..." She unwrapped a katana which had been snapped in two. The hilt was still encrusted with dried blood.

"That's not...!" Shippou cried.

"Yes. Tenseiga."

The afternoon wore on and Hideko told the tragic story. "It was only six years ago that I left the palace of My Lord with his newborn daughter. A few years before that, the Lady Rin came to live with us. The poor girl was dead. He revived her before mine own eyes with this sword, Tenseiga. T'was a miracle of which I'd only heard, never seen before. When she awoke, I was her handmaid. It was the happiest day when Sesshoumaru-sama declared to all under his rule that he would follow his father and wed a human woman. So in love was he with the Lady Rin.

"It was hard for her, living in that house. Most others of the court, youkai all, were less than friendly to her. The three of us led somewhat of a lonely life. But they had love and were seldom aware of much else than each other. Rin would paint her pictures and he would govern his territory and when they were together there was naught else in the world that mattered. Those were good times.

"Soon the Lady Rin found herself with child. She was fearful of the court's reaction, but My Lord was her support. He was afraid, himself, but would not let her know it. He knew what had happened to his brother, your father, Yousuke, and did not want such a tragic childhood to repeat itself.

"When the time came for the child to be born, Rin fell ill. As the child was given life, Rin's was taken away. We were shocked, of course, but My Lord simply unsheathed Tenseiga and bid it give her life again. Nothing happened. In retrospect, I believe Tenseiga to have power over life taken unnaturally but not by a natural cause.

"Grief-stricken, my Lord exclaimed that he refused to live without her and plunged the sword into his abdomen. He twisted till it snapped in twain." Hideko touched the dirty remainder of the life-giving sword as she spoke. "He then beckoned me to bring his child to him. His eyes were almost red and his voice was unholy as he uttered a curse upon the child who had taken his love's life.

"'May such grief follow you through the ages. May you find love like no other. May you bear him a girl child and may you die in its birthing. May he then be driven mad with the loss for now and for always.' Those words are burned into my soul forever. He wiped a finger coated in blood down her forehead. The mark has stayed with her to this day.

"Sesshoumaru-sama then turned and walked away. I cried out for him to return but knew that he would not. Knowing that without him, the court would surely kill the child, I did what I could. Using my kitsune power, I transformed My Lady's body into a plum tree and fled with her baby to this place.

"Now that you have seen another using Toukijin, I am sure Sesshoumaru-sama is gone from this world." Hideko wept into her hands. Nanaka comforted her and Shippou replaced the half of the Tenseiga. He stood with it in his hands for a moment before putting it in the chest.

They left the poor woman before dark, promising to find Toukijin and discover how it had changed hands. Shippou and Nanaka talked at length about the history of the two swords that belonged to Sesshoumaru, Tenseiga and Toukijin, and Tetsusaiga, Tenseiga's mate which Inuyasha had taken with him when he and Kagome left 20 years ago. Yousuke stopped walking.

"I've been thinking," he started. The others stopped and listened. "We need to find the vine monster soon because we need to find Misora, but if this Sorako and Kagura are standing in the way, We're gonna get slaughtered before we even get there." He clenched his fists in frustration.

"Wow. You're really nothing like your father," Shippou stated.

"I'm not?" Yousuke asked, sadly.

"No. He would have rushed into this without thinking. But that's how he was when he was young. I'm sure he's not so hot-headed anymore."

Yousuke remembered several occasions where his father did just that and nodded. "He's still like that." He put his hands on his hips. "I need to go home."

"What?!" Nanaka shouted.

"I need to get Tetsusaiga."

"You mean, you still have it!?" Shippou asked, excitedly.

"Yeah, it's hanging on the wall in our living room. And if what Sorako says is true, I've got half the Shikon no Tama in me. That means I can go back through the well."

"And because you're a hanyou, you can use Tetsusaiga." Shippou slapped his fist into his palm. "This is great!"

"Will you guys stay here and wait for me? It shouldn't be long if I take Kirara."

They agreed and Yousuke set off for Kaede's village.

**.x.**

The sun was setting behind the old shrine on top of the hill. Kagome was finishing up her duties and was about to close the doors when her husband's shadow crept across the floor.

"Dinner's almost ready," he said and leaned in the doorframe.

She sighed and removed her ceremonial hat. "Good, I'm starving."

For a moment, they both thought, things were almost normal, almost, until Kagome straightened up and walked quickly to Inuyasha's side. "Do you feel that?" she whispered, clutching his sleeve.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "Two of them, close by."

"Take it easy. I don't feel jaki, just youki. They don't mean us harm… at least not outwardly. Besides..." Kagome tapped a bow mounted on the wall as 'decoration'. "I'm always prepared."

Two people ascended the steps and approached the shrine complex. As they drew closer, they could see they were an older woman and a young girl. They were both dressed in traditional Japanese kimono and the girl wore an unseasonable shawl wrapped over her head.

"Good evening," the woman hailed them. "We come to you as friends." Inuyasha stepped in front of his wife and folded his arms.

"Good evening," Kagome began. "I'm afraid the shrine is closing for the day."

"That is why we are here so late. Please excuse our rudeness. We would like to speak with the famed miko, Higurashi Kagome."

"Fa-med?" Kagome repeated the older woman's old-fashioned way of speaking, "I don't think so."

The woman smiled and her rather long incisors glinted in the fading sunlight. "Perhaps not anymore, but five hundred years ago you were quite well known."

Inuyasha looked to his wife and they silently agreed to go along with it for now.

"Please, come in." Kagome stepped aside and let the youkai pass.

Inuyasha and Kagome stared at the girl as she removed her shawl. Her hair was short, but bright white. Her eyes were amber and sitting on top of her head were two fur-covered ears.

The youkai woman held two fingers up and removed her disguise. A long bushy brown tail and two pointed ears told them she was a kitsune. "I have been searching for some time for the cure for this poor child's curse."

"Is she a hanyou?" Kagome asked for her husband, not wanting to give away his identity.

"I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced us. Forgive me I am very excited to have found you after so many years. My name is Hideko, and this girl is Rin, the 20th descendant of Lord Sesshoumaru."

Both humans present stared unblinkingly at the young girl. She blushed and hung her head even lower. "Yoroshiku…" she whispered. "Pleased to meet you…"

"What's the curse…?" Inuyasha asked cautiously.

Hideko recited her story for them as she had for so many gurus, wizards and healers through the ages. Kagome went about getting the necessary items for an exorcism.

"Ne, Kagome. Is a curse something that can just be exorcised?"

She anointed the red birthmark on the girl's forehead with holy water. "I'm going to do more than that. When I perform exorcisms, I don't use usually use my powers." She smiled reassuringly at the worried girl. "It won't hurt, promise."

"I don't care. I just want to live. My mother died when I was born. And her mother before her…"

"I'll do my best," Kagome whispered and began to chant unintelligibly. Soon, both of them were glowing with power. Suddenly, a small bolt of reddish current arched from Rin the 20th's forehead and struck Kagome with enough spiritual energy to knock her over backwards.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha rushed to her side.

"I'm… ok, I think…"

"I'm so sorry!" the girl wept.

Hideko clenched her fists. "Not again. Damn you, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Inuyasha barked at her, "Why do you call that bastard -sama?! He should never have gotten respect from anyone, ever! He never even treated his own kin with any form of respect!"

"How dare you!" Hideko shouted back. "Lord Sesshoumaru-sama loved the Lady Rin more than his own life. He was lost in grief when he cursed her child! He would never have done such a thing had he but known…"

Inuyasha sat down again and stared at the kitsune woman. "'Loved'… My brother's dead, isn't he?"

"Brother… Then it's true. You are Inuyasha." Hideko took Rin into her lap and stroked her hair. "I see. You are right to think so ill of him. The man you knew was such a man. He was different after you left our world, very different. Surely you must know how love can change a person."

Inuyasha nodded and lowered his head in thought. 'He's dead… All these years… for 20 generations…he's been dead. '

"We're sorry for troubling you. We will take our leave."

"Matte kudasai." Kagome blinked as if remembering something. "Please, wait. You wouldn't have happened to run into my son and daughter about 20 years after we left your world, would you?"

Hideko looked startled. "Yes!"

"Yes?!" both parents shouted back.

"Yes, he and my cousin Shippou and a human girl had tea one afternoon. They were looking for the boy's sister. Yousuke was his name, yes?"

"YES!" Kagome shouted. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks.

Inuyasha slapped the hard wood floor. "They were looking for Misora?! Did they find her?!"

"I don't know… they went along on their quest…" Hideko pursed her lips. They had seen Toukijin. She remembered now. Had they found the girl? Should she tell the worried parents that the most evil sword known to Japan was involved in their young son's quest? "Ah! I remember now!" she shouted in relief. "Some time later, perhaps even twenty years afterwards, my cousin Shippou paid us a visit again. I asked about the quest and he said that it had ended. The boy found his sister and went home."

Mr. and Mrs. Kawano sat in stunned silence for a moment then looked at each other. "They're coming home," Inuyasha whispered to his wife.

"They're coming home!" she echoed.

**.x.**

That evening, a few yards from the bone-eater's well in the Sengoku Jidai, Kirara touched down and let Yousuke off. He stared at the shadowy opening with his hanyou's eyes. "Well. Wish me luck," he said to the giant youkai-cat. "I'm going to steal from my own house." He jumped down the well and crossed his fingers. When he was little, Inuyasha had told him that Tetsusaiga was booby trapped up the wazoo. It looked to Yousuke like it was just sitting on two nails above the couch. "I'll find out soon enough…" he said and disappeared into the future.

**.x.**

Shippou flopped down in the tall grass and put his hands behind his head. The stars were just beginning to pop in darkening sky. He breathed a sigh and squinted up into the heavens. Nanaka flopped down with her head close to his and did the same.

"Do you think Yousuke can defeat this Sorako person with Tetsusaiga, Shippou-kun?"

He took a moment to answer. "I should hope so. His dad could just point it at stuff and attack with it, but it took time to master."

"How much time?"

"Oh." Shippou made a face. "About a half a year."

"Mataku…" she groaned.

"What?" Shippou spat the piece of grass he'd been chewing on out of his mouth. "What'd you think this would be a pleasure jaunt? The last time we had to do this it took 3 years!"

Nanaka furrowed her brows. "What do you mean, 'last time'?"

Shippou swallowed deep. "I just mean that quests, like the one I was on with Yousuke's dad, Inuyasha. Quests take a long time… is all…" When she looked back up at the heavens he relaxed and cast his own gaze back up. 'That was too close. No need to worry her with my suspicions.'

"Shippou-kun… you ever feel really small looking up like this?"

"No, why?" he asked and looked over at the girl.

She laughed a little. "Che, what am I asking you for, Mister Big Powerful Youkai?"

"Nanaka! I'm not like that!"

"I know!" she giggled, having succeeded in getting a rise out of him. She looked back up, but he continued to watch her in the flickering light of their campfire.

'I may not be the most powerful youkai that ever lived,' he thought, 'but I'm a thousand times stronger than I was when we fought Naraku." Shippou turned his eyes back to the stars and squinted again, making their light seem to radiate and twinkle. 'It may take a while, if my suspicions are correct. No matter what, I'll protect you guys. It's my turn to protect the ones I love. I won't let me friends' kids get hurt.'

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Six**

Just as Yousuke had expected, Kagome left the back door unbolted. It was a terrible habit, especially in this day and age, even if the shrine complex was a safe place. He slipped in and let his eyes adjust, amazed at how much he could see in the pitch dark in a familiar setting. 'If only I had these eyes last month when I tried to sneak out at three in the morning to break into the supply shed again!' he thought to himself. He crept around the corner of the kitchen doorway and inched along the hall. As he looked into the living room, Yousuke's heart sank.

The sword Tetsusaiga was there where he remembered it being, but sleeping just beneath it on the couch was its owner.

'Kuso' he hissed internally. 'I'd rather face Sorako again than this!' Going to all fours, Yousuke crept around the couch and looked over the arm at his snoozing father, the TV remote still loosely in his hand. 'There is NO way I'm gonna get that sword without…'

Before he could complete the thought, one of Inuyasha's eyes shot open. The two stared at each other in stunned silence. Inuyasha's mouth opened and Yousuke jumped him.

"Shhhhhhhhhhh! Tousan, don't wake Kaasan!" Yousuke said as quietly but as forcefully as he could. Inuyasha grabbed him by the shoulders and quickly sat up.

"Did you find Misora already!?" he hissed back in the same tone.

"What?" Yousuke blinked, confused, but a look of utter confusion soon fell across his father's face. He reached out with shaking hands and gasped the boy's soft, white, furry ears.

"Y-yousuke?" Inuyasha stammered.

"It's a long story…" Yousuke tried to wriggle free of his grip.

Inuyasha's eyes darkened. "I have time…"

Yousuke shook his head and told him a little of the story, careful not to make him worry too much. His father explained their meeting with Hideko earlier that same day.

"Yousuke, if you haven't found Misora yet, why are you here?" Inuyasha whispered.

"Well, now that I'm a hanyou, sort of… I came to get… etou… to borrow Tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha raised a brow. "Borrow?"

"Well yeah, I was gonna bring it back when I'm done with it…" Yousuke looked up, pleadingly. "Can I? There's this youkai whose butt I need to kick in order to get at where Misora is."

"Shippou's with you, right?"

"Yeah."

Inuyasha stood up and lifted the sheathed sword from its place of honor on the wall. "Have him teach you how to use it before you go swinging it around."

Yousuke blinked in disbelief. "R-really?!"

"Shhhhhh…" Inuyasha pressed his finger to his lips. "Your mom's finally getting a good night's sleep." He grinned and handed the legendary sword to his only son. "I know you're going to be ok, but take care."

Yousuke beamed. He noticed a basket of laundry sitting on the table. "Hey, Tousan, can you find me a pair of my gi-pants? These suckers are shredded." He picked at the numerous holes in his school uniform.

Inuyasha laughed quietly. "I got a better idea." They went into the kitchen. His father took a key from the 'stuff' drawer Kagome was always telling him to sort out. "In the supply shed there's a present for you."

Yousuke's eyes lit up. "Arigatou, Tousan!"

"Make me proud. And don't tell your mother I let you do this! Oh! And tell everyone we said 'hi!'"

Yousuke saluted and bolted out the back door with the sword in hand. He knew what he was looking for (since he had broken into the thing a couple of times before) as he swung the supply shed door open.

The fire rat kimono top was still several sizes too big to be of any use, but the voluminous pants fit alright. He pulled them up high under his white tee shirt and put his uniform jacket back on. "Yosh'!" he cheered and patted the sword. "Now I'm ready. You better look out, Sorako. Kawano Yousuke is coming to get his sister back!"

**.x.**

As dawn broke, Kagura pouted. 'Another night gone…' she thought, and rested her chin in her palm. As she stared at the fading stars, the wind shifted around her just slightly. "What do you want?" she asked the silence.

Sorako approached her from behind, walking gingerly over the abandoned palace's tiled roof. To Kagura's surprise, the creature seated herself next to her and stared out at the horizon. The wind-user blinked, pouted again and replaced her chin.

"Tell me, Sorako. What do you want?"

"The sun is coming…" she said in her creepy monotone.

"No, Idiot," Kagura spat. "What do you want… in general? All of Naraku's offspring have had their own aspirations. What's yours?"

"What's yours?" she mimicked.

"I asked you first!" Kagura barked back. Sorako blinked once.

"I don't have any."

"Of course you do!" Kagura moaned, getting frustrated. "Do you want power, prestige, money…?" Sorako shook her head slowly. Kagura grinned thinly and leaned in. "Do you want to show your little brother who's boss? That's what you told Naraku when he made you, you know."

"I don't have a little brother."

"Sure you do…" Kagura started to explain, but stopped herself. 'She isn't aware of her desire!' she thought suddenly. 'It's like that Kohaku kid Naraku used to keep around! He was quite the tool, that one. He had no feelings and no ambition of his own. Naraku must mean to duplicate his success with Kokahu with this Shikon no Tama girl!' She grinned wider. 'Ooh! And the best part is big brother has come looking for little sister and neither of them knows the truth! Oooooh! And even better! Naraku doesn't know big brother has the other half!' Kagura had all she could do to keep from laughing out loud. "You're right, Sorako-chan. Sorry." she raised her fan. "You don't have anyone, anyone at all." With that she whirled away with the breeze, leaving Sorako sitting, watching the dawn break.

Kagura hummed to herself as she walked the dusty halls of the palace. 'This is very interesting,' she mused. At the end of the hall, she stopped and looked into a room lit by a single oil lamp. The little girl's body lay on a mat in the far corner, inert and silent. Kagura grinned and left the palace.

**.x.**

Kirara got to her feet when she heard Yousuke leap back out of the well.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kirara," he patted her shoulder and hopped on for the ride back.

The campfire had only just died down and Nanaka and Shippou were dozing peacefully when Yousuke returned. He let them sleep and walked a ways into the woods to practice. The sword was old and rusted, but he knew from the stories what would happen. Yousuke unsheathed it and thinking only of his lost sister grit his teeth and pointed it at the heavens. The fang sprouted from the hilt, weighing no more than it did before. He cut the air a few times and grinned a satisfied grin.

"Yokatta," Shippou sighed, leaning against a nearby tree. "I'm glad you were able to get it."

"Lookit!" he cheered and spun around. "I can work it!"

"Whoa! Don't point that thing at me, kid!" Shippou laughed. "You can make it come to life, but now you have to learn how see it."

"See what?"

"The Kaze no Kizu: the Wound of the Wind."

Yousuke nodded, remembering the stories. "Can you show me first?"

"If I could even hold that sword, sure. It doesn't like youkai very much, only people with human blood."

"Right." He blushed and switched hands. He tested its feel in his left hand then decided he should use his right. "So what do I do?"

Shippou jogged a few yards away. "Feel out for my ki and try to visualize what it looks like, swirling around my body. There's a point at which the aura clashes with the air, the point where my ki tears at the atmosphere. That's the Wound of the Wind. Aim the sword at that and bring it down."

"You WILL hop out of the way, right?!" Yousuke asked, getting nervous.

"No, Baka, I want you to kill me. OF COURSE I'LL JUMP OUT OF THE WAY!" Laughter from behind him made Shippou jump prematurely.

"Shippou-kun, you're still a lousy teacher," Nanaka chided him.

He closed his eyes and ignored her. 'Who am I protecting again?' he thought, annoyed. Nanaka watched in awe as the two boys practiced. The legendary sword she read about in the Sengoku O Togi Zoushi her parents wrote was more amazing than she had imagined.

The session didn't last long. A strong gust of wind, so tight and forced by youki that it was visible cut through one of Yousuke's Kaze no Kizu attacks.

"Kagura!" Shippou shouted as he saw the wind user descend on her huge feather. Nanaka hovered her hand over the kunai under her breastplate.

"Relax. I'm not here to kill you, yet." She jumped down delicately and tapped her shoulder with her fan. "He can't see me this far away."

Shippou gnashed his teeth. 'So Naraku is behind this!' he thought angrily. 'But how!?'

"Where's Misora!?" Yousuke shouted, pointing Tetsusaiga at her.

She blinked a few times. Her eyes wandered from the sword to the ears on top of his head. "Ohohoho!" she cackled. "This gets better and better!"

"Kagura!" Shippou growled, "Quit fucking around!"

She totally ignored him. "I'd like to invite you to our cozy castle. If you want your precious sister back, follow me!" She extended the fan and took off on the wind. Nanaka and Yousuke mounted Kirara and Shippou transformed and they chased after her.

**.x.**

The vines coiled and slithered sickeningly in anticipation. "I can feel it. It's coming," Naraku whispered his voice ragged like a broom sweeping a stone floor. "I must have it soon, Sorako. You won't disappoint me, will you?"

The white haired young woman bowed lightly and left the room.

**.x.**

As the sky lightened they could see the clearing ahead. "Whooo," Nanaka frowned. "The jaki coming from that place…"

Shippou nodded his huge head. "Mm. He's in there all right."

"He?" Nanaka asked but Shippou raced ahead and returned to his humanoid form.

"Nanaka, you read the Togi Zoushi, right?" Yousuke asked as they dismounted in front of the castle.

"Of course," she answered snobbishly, "My family WROTE it, remember?"

Yousuke ignored her attitude. "You remember who Kagura worked for: the man who could see what she was up to, who used to hide out in castles surrounded by an evil aura?" He stared at the seemingly abandoned palace.

"You mean…?"

"Well, well, well, it seems we have company, Sorako-chan," Kagura called down from the roof. Below her the white haired girl slid a door open and walked out as if this meeting were truly a social call. She pulled Toukijin out of a sheath on her back and prepared to fight. It was clear she had only one target.

"You guys look for Misora. I'll take out Sorako."

Shippou and Nanaka nodded. They sprang up onto the roof and confronted Kagura.

"You won't get off so easy now." Kagura smirked. "I've got to put on a good show."

"How did he survive!?" Shippou barked. "I saw Inuyasha kill him. Miroku's Kaazana healed and everything!"

Kagura shuddered. "How can you possibly kill something that evil?" she asked back. "There's not much left of him and he's taken to vegetable matter over youkai parts this time around, but with big brother's half of the Shikon no Tama he'll have all he needs to make a comeback," she scoffed. "It's my job, guys. I have to make sure you don't get in the way." Kagura raised her fan and their fight began.

Yousuke squinted at Sorako and unsheathed Tetsusaiga. "I can feel her. My sister's in there. If you don't let me through, I will kill you." His voice was steely in its conviction. His hands did not tremble. 'Dad, Mom,' he thought. 'I'm going to win. I'm going to bring Misora home.' The boy called White Lightning raised his father's and grandfather's fang and charged his opponent.

Shippou pulled a handful of leaves from a pocket inside his kimono. With amazing skill he sent each flying at Kagura. She prepared to simply wave them away, but Nanaka was on top of it. When the wind user moved to open her fan she was aggravated to find it was tied shut. Nanaka smirked and pulled the wires, stretching Kagura's arm out towards her. The leaves burst into blue flames as they reached her.

"Kuso!" she wailed in pain. "Do you think that's all I have?!" Kagura pulled one of her earrings off and threw it at the wire. It snapped it, forcing Nanaka to jump back. Kagura conjured up a whirlwind and set it on Shippou. He tried to fake left, but it swallowed him up. Kirara snarled and leapt at Kagura, who laughed and with one flick of her fan sent her tumbling over the roof, knocking the wind out of her.

"Shippou, Kirara!" Nanaka shouted and whipped her kunai at Kagura. Without batting an eye she flicked the blades away and drew three needles from her hair.

"I have a present for you, little shinobi girl!"

Nanaka snickered as she dodged the needles. "I told you before, Kagura. Poison doesn't affect me!" One of them grazed her cheek.

Kagura laughed from behind her fan. "Oh? I though it was poison from the islands that you were immune to. This little gem is from the main land, dear."

Nanaka clenched her teeth but decided to call Kagura's bluff. She raced in and withdrew her katana. Her vision blurred and she lost her footing. Kagura's laugh echoed off the rooftop. She raised her fan and blew Nanaka off the roof.

"Nanaka!" Shippou cried from within the whirlwind. 'I gotta get outta here!' he thought wildly as he was chewed up by the sharp winds. 'Nanaka…' He could see Sango and Miroku's faces if he had to tell them he couldn't save their daughter. 'No…' Shippou put all his cards on the table. 'I won't let that happen!' He transformed, breaking the whirlwind but rending his flesh in the process. He jumped off the roof and changed back. His clothes were tattered and bloody. "Nanaka?" he called and ran around the building to where she had fallen.

Yousuke cringed as the force of Toukijin came down on Tetsusaiga. It was such an evil sword it almost smelled bad. He could see the waves of jaki coming off of it, but strangely nothing from the girl attacking him. "What the hell are you?" he asked, astounded. "Are you a bourei or something? You don't stink like the dead, but you don't give off any ki energy…"

Sorako ignored him and pressed harder. Her hollow eyes were creeping him out. Yousuke pushed her away and prepared for another attack.

"Yousuke!" Shippou shouted. "Nanaka's been hurt!"

He looked to his friend out of the corner of his eye. "Shippou!" he cried when he saw the shape he was in.

Kagura cackled from the rooftops. "Come on, Sorako-chan, hurry up. I'm bored of this."

"Shippou, get Nanaka out of here! I'll follow when I finish up with this little nuisance." He turned his attention back to Sorako, ending discussion on the subject. Confident in him, Shippou scooped Nanaka up, put her on Kirara's back and they flew away from the palace.

"Sorako-chan, I'm bored too," Yousuke growled and cracked the knuckles of his left hand. "This ends now." He hefted the sword up with one hand and watched Toukijin's jaki clash with the air. "Kaze no Kizu!"

Kagura hopped out of the way just as the attack slammed into the building. "Damn it," she hissed. "I forgot about that. I wonder if Sorako made it..."

Sorako's legs stuck out from under some of the destroyed wall. Yousuke made sure that Sorako wasn't waiting for him to let his guard down and rushed into through the huge hole he had made in the wall. "Misora!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The jaki inside was a hundred times worse than out. He covered his face with his sleeve and raced through the building. "Why do I get the feeling she's down where the stink is coming from?!" he groaned.

Sure enough in the last and only lit chamber, his sister lay on the floor on a thin futon. He was relieved, but a slight movement from the corner turned his blood to ice. Sheer horror overcame him. Even in the near darkness, he could see a huge, bulbous and writhing thing. On top of the evil aura that assaulted his nose it smelled like a compost heap in late august. "Omae wa… Naraku," he whispered, becoming nauseous.

"So it's true," Naraku hissed in his sandpaper voice. "You are the son of the man who killed me…"

"I'll kill you again," Yousuke faltered, his senses getting overloaded.

"Not today, little boy. Go ahead. Take her. She's what you came for, isn't she?"

Not one to argue with the powers of darkness, Yousuke gathered her up into his arms and run as fast as his feet would carry him out of the palace and into the night.

Kagura watched from the opposite side entrance. "You let him go?"

Naraku made a sound that could be construed as a laugh. "He'll be back."

**.x.**

Dashing over rocks and around trees, Yousuke followed the scent of Shippou's blood. The kitsune had been pretty heavily wounded by Kagura's cyclone attack, but he was a youkai; Yousuke wasn't worried about him. It was the cold, unmoving girl in his arms he was starting to panic about.

Just a couple hundred yards from the entrance to a cave Shippou's scent was coming from, Yousuke stopped and put his hand to his sister's neck. Her skin was cold and dry and no noticeable pulse fluttered under his fingers. She was also not breathing.

"Misora…?" he whispered and touched her face.

**.x.**

Nanaka was sweating profusely as the poison worked its way through her system. Shippou wiped her face with a shred of his shirt and whispered to her. 'What am I going to do?!' he thought. 'I can't help her at all…' "Nanaka, hang in there. You can fight this. I know you can," he lied. Kirara mewed pitifully at her side. Shippou lowered his head. "I'm scared too, Kirara."

"Shi… Shippou-kun…" the shinobi breathed.

"I'm right here," he said and took her hand. She squeezed back.

"I'm sorry, I never…"

"Shhh… Save your strength."

"But I want to tell you…"

"I know," he smiled and smoothed her damp hair away from her face. "Me too." A few moments later, she slipped into unconsciousness. Before Shippou had time to panic, Yousuke appeared at the entrance to the cave. He dumped something Shippou couldn't make out in the early morning light on the ground and collapsed on the opposite side.

"Yousuke…"

"Is Nanaka all right?"

"…" The kitsune didn't bother to hide the tears in his eyes. "No. She's got a fever and I don't think she's going to live…"

Yousuke's eyes widened. He grabbed his backpack and rummaged through it. Sure enough, his mother had packed him a small bottle of aspirin. "Give her three of these!" he shouted and scrambled over to her with a half empty bottle of water he had in his bag. It wasn't easy, but they managed to feed her the pills.

"Will it help?" Shippou asked, still clutching the girl's hand.

"It'll bring the fever down. The rest is up to her. She's immune to poison, isn't she?"

Shippou nodded. "Most poisons." He looked to the cave entrance and finally made out what Yousuke had dropped on his way in. "Ah! Did you find your sister?" he asked, hopefully.

"Yeah." Yousuke replied, not meeting his friend's eyes. He leaned against the cave wall again. "She's dead."

The color went out of Shippou's face. "It can't be…" Yousuke didn't respond. "I'm so sorry, Yousuke."

The boy hugged his knees and wept silently into his torn and dirty uniform pants. _'What am I gonna do…?'_ he thought._ 'Mom and Dad…'_ Naraku's sense-memory flooded him suddenly and he shuddered. Anger and hatred boiled through his blood. _'I'm going to kill you for sure.'_ He stared at the still form of his sister's body._ 'For once and for all.'_

_To be continued…_


	7. Chapter 7

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Seven**

Shippou finally dozed off once the sun rose. He held Nanaka's hand loosely in his lap. Yousuke snored lightly, leaning against the cave wall. Kirara mewed quietly as the body beneath her moved.

"Kirara…" Nanaka whispered. Her left hand reached out and stroked the youkai's head. She smiled softly and sighed as she noticed her other hand's location. She reached up and touched his face.

Shippou was startled awake, but overjoyed. "How ya feel?" he asked, quietly.

"Pretty lousy," she whispered. Her eyes wandered around their surroundings. "Is Yousuke ok?"

"I don't think so. He found his sister…" Shippou said gravely. He nodded to the body at the entrance.

"No…" Nanaka gasped. "It can't be. That's not fair! We came all this way…" She slowly rose and crawled over to the girl. Her skin was almost the same color as her hair. Nanaka touched her face and frowned. "How was she killed?"

"I don't know," Yousuke answered from behind her. "But I'm going to make certain Naraku pays for it."

Shippou nodded.

"I don't think she's dead…" Nanaka muttered.

"What?" Yousuke got up and joined them.

The shinobi put her hand over her chest. "There's no sign of life, but how long has she been like this?"

"At least six or seven hours…"

Nanaka plied the girl's fingers. "She's still limber. If she had been dead that long she wouldn't be able to move." She sat back on her feet and closed her eyes. "One time we went to exterminate this one village… People had been dying en mass. The bodies were piled up in a storeroom because there wasn't enough time to bury them. Finally they realized the culprit was a youkai. We arrived, examined the bodies, laid a trap and waited. The youkai was drawing out people's souls, leaving their bodies much like this," she said and indicated to Misora. "When we killed it, the people all woke up. It was the happiest job I've ever done."

Shippou clapped his friend's back. "So there's a chance!" he cheered. "We kill Naraku we might get her back!"

Yousuke narrowed his eyes. "Not Naraku…"

"Eh?" Shippou looked at him funny.

"That Sorako youkai. I have a feeling this is connected to her somehow. She knew I have the other half of the Shikon no Tama. She's got white hair and she gives me a chill whenever I see her." Yousuke held his sister's hand. "I'm going to take her out first. If I don't make it, Shippou, make sure you get Naraku."

"Yousuke!" Nanaka shouted. "Don't sound so melodramatic. We're going to win!" The force of the effort to yell made her head spin. She swooned into Shippou's arms.

They sat there for a few moments, collecting their thoughts. Finally Shippou stood, picking Nanaka up. "Let's go back to the Taijiya Village. We can leave Misora and Nanaka there, then set out for the palace from there."

Yousuke picked Misora up and nodded. "Don't worry, Mi-chan. We're going home soon," he whispered, perhaps more to encourage himself.

**.x.**

In the daytime, Naraku wasn't as active. Kagura had been paying attention. She drifted through the halls of the abandoned palace and hovered in the doorway. The vacant futon brought a small smile to her lips. 'You're a fool, Naraku,' she thought. 'They're going to crush you. And I'm not going down with you.' She eyed the prize, a small jar sitting on a low shelf on the opposite side of the dark room. The mass of vines and vegetable matter was inert on the far side. Narrowing her eyes, she made up her mind.

Just before she reached the jar, Kagura jerked to a halt and let out a small cry of alarm. Sorako had grabbed her hair and held her fast. The vine monster awoke.

"So," it seethed. "You still haven't learned, Kagura."

Before she could beg for her life, Kagura's animosity got the better of her. "You bastard!" she cried. "If you think you are going to win this time you're a bigger fool than I ever believed you to be!"

He was visibly shocked to hear her speak out against him, but grinned and slithered towards her. "Good work, Sorako." As his vines wound their way around the wind-user's legs, Sorako released her and stepped back. "What was that you were saying about me?" he hissed as the coils tightened.

"You…" Her eyes filled with tears. The clay jar that held her heart seemed a mile away. Suddenly, right next to it appeared another little clay jar. "You are a fool!" She spat in his face, knowing that she had nothing left to lose.

"You have betrayed me for the last time, Kagura. Your death will not come easily." He unwrapped the coils slowly and she sunk to the ground.

"No…" Kagura choked. She looked up to Sorako and tried to reach out to her. "Help me… Don't… don't let him do this to me!"

Naraku simply laughed and retreated to his dank corner as Kagura panted on the floor, unable to move and slowly having the life squeezed out of her. The new jar shrunk a little in size. Sorako stood and watched, unable and unwilling to do anything at all.

**.x.**

When they finally reached the Taijiya village it was close to evening. Kirara and Shippou touched down. Nanaka shook off Shippou's helping hand as she entered her parents' house. "I can walk!" she shouted. Yousuke followed, carrying his sister.

"Kaasan, Tousan! Nanaka's back!" on of her younger siblings shouted. The first person out of the house was neither Sango nor Miroku but her only older sibling, Nioumaru. He had obviously been at home this time. He was wearing a simple haori and short hakama.

"Nanaka-chan!" he greeted her. "So you've succeeded! I knew you could do it!"

She smiled a little, knowing that he couldn't have been spying on her for once. "Nioumaru…" she began but lost her strength and fell into his arms.

"Nanaka-chan? Nanaka-chan!" Nioumaru looked shocked but picked her up, ignored the others and ran into the house.

When the clamor had at last settled down, Nanaka and Misora lay on futons in the girl's room. Miroku asserted that Misora was in fact alive and that her soul had been misplaced. It was all a bit much for Yousuke to believe, but as Shippou reminded him, it was not uncommon in the Sengoku Jidai. The boys explained what had happened, careful to keep Kagura and Naraku's names out of the narrative.

Shippou sipped a cup of tea and stared at Nanaka who was sullen and quiet as her mother bandaged her wounds. "Yousuke and I are leaving tonight and take out the Vine Monster."

"Are you certain you boys can handle it?" Miroku asked, raising a brow.

He nodded.

"Shippou-kun! You are NOT leaving me behind!" Nanaka shouted.

"No," Shippou agreed. "I am not leaving you. I'm forcing you to stay here." His eyes were dark and serious. "You can't go back in now in the shape you're in and we need to act fast. I will not endanger your life."

Sango looked up from tending a bandage on Nanaka's leg. "Please," she whispered to her eldest daughter. "Please stay." A few tears fell from her eyes onto the girl's exposed skin.

"Kaasan…" Nanaka pouted but held her mother's hand. "I'm sorry. I'll stay…"

The door slid open and Yousuke entered the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Are you sure you're ready to go, Yousuke?" Miroku asked. "You can sleep for a while here if you like."

"Nah, we gotta go tonight, thanks. I was just reading the Togi Zoushi again. My eyes hurt. That writing is so old!"

"It's new to us, kid," Miroku sighed. "Yousuke, Shippou. May Buddha be with you. I know you will succeed."

"Take care of Mi-chan. We'll be back soon!" Yousuke cheered as he ran outside. Shippou transformed into the huge kitsune and let him hitch a ride.

"Let's show this bastard who not to mess with!" the kitsune roared.

"Yosh'!" Yousuke punched the air and they flew off into the night.

**.x.**

The castle was far creepier at night than by day. It seemed to be blacker than even the night sky. Yousuke shuddered remembering Naraku's incredibly overpowering jaki, but sucked in a breath and marched up to the entrance. He looked to Shippou and nodded.

"Oi! Naraku! I'm baack!" Yousuke shouted at the top of his lungs. "Send out your minions or get your fat, lazy ass out here yourself, you coward!" When they heard nothing, Yousuke bristled. "I know you're in there, you piece of crap!" the 15 year old bellowed as if he were on the playground calling to someone who was fool enough to call him out.

"Oi, Yousuke," Shippou whispered. "Why don't we just go in there and kick his ass?"

"Have you been in there!?" Yousuke hissed back. "I can't stand the smell!"

Shippou sweat a little but didn't argue.

Yousuke went back to his taunting. "I can smell your stink from all the way out here! You smell like puke warmed over!" Still the deadly silence echoed his words back at him. He screamed in rage. "All right, you sack of shit, I'm coming in!"

He took one step forward and sensed Sorako's attack just moments before it would have sliced him in half. He jumped back as the ground exploded under the power of Toukijin. Tetsusaiga sprang to life and the two swords seemed to be excited to get to fight each other again.

Shippou clutched his fists and waited for his opponent to show her face. He couldn't wait to pound her face in. As if in answer to his anticipation, Sorako muttered, "Kagura will not come out."

The boys exchanged confused glances. "What now?!" Yousuke shouted.

"I'm going in," Shippou squinted and said solemnly.

"Don't be stupid!"

"Too late for that." Shippou ran around them and bounded up the steps, unhindered by Sorako. She knew who her opponent was.

"Guess it's just you and me, Sorako…"

Her brows came together just a tiny bit and she charged him.

Shippou padded softly down the hall. From a room at the end he could hear someone's labored breathing. He swallowed deep and proceeded cautiously. Lying on the floor with her eyes wide with pain was Kagura the Wind User. Shippou clenched his fists and growled.

"You… Kitsune…" she croaked. "Please… help me. He's trying to kill me!"

"He's not the only one…" he snarled.

"You don't know what position I'm in! I don't have a choice… I have to do what he tells me…"

"She almost died…" He stepped closer.

"Look up! Over there on the shelf… Please I'm begging you. Break open those jars! Please!" she gasped for breath. An invisible weight seemed to be crushing her. "It's a perishing jar. I'm being squeezed as that thing shrinks. Save me! Please! I swear I won't hurt you or your friends again!"

Shippou stopped and looked to the jars out of the corner of his eye. She wasn't lying; he could see the smaller jar shrink before his eyes. 'What would Nanaka want me to do?' he thought. 'Would I be her hero if I killed the person who hurt her, or would I just make her feel inadequate?' He remembered the disappointed look on her face when he left her at the Taijiya village. 'I'll let her worry about it…' Shippou walked to the shelf and nudged the earthen jars. They crashed to the floor and emitted a sort of pink vapor which dissipated into the air. Kagura sighed heavily with relief and stood up slowly.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You came to get Naraku, didn't you?"

Shippou swallowed hard. "Yes."

"Well then," she smiled. "Shall we? I think we both have scores to settle with him."

**.x.**

Kagome stood in the darkened doorway and looked into her daughter's room. Nothing had been disturbed since she disappeared. Misora always kept her room neat and tidy. The bed was made and her plethora of stuffed animals sat at attention, waiting for her return.

Just down the hall in Souta's old room, it was evident that Yousuke was a different child. His things were scattered, papers all over the desk, the bedclothes were still messed. Kagome had thought about cleaning it every day, but every day couldn't bring herself to do it.

"It's so hard..." she whispered as she heard her husband come up the stairs. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

He hugged her tightly. "If they're anything like the two of us, they'll be home in no time." His features darkened. Like Kagome's willingness to have hope, his ability to keep Yousuke's visit a secret was slipping fast. She hadn't noticed the sword was gone. He didn't want to have to lie to her. Perhaps now was the time. Inuyasha swallowed hard. "Kagome..."

She smiled and turned to face him. "Don't worry. I'm ok. Just having a bad moment. Come on, let's go to bed."

As she went to their room, he heaved a sigh and turned the light in Yousuke's room off. "Hurry home, kids," he whispered as he followed her.

**.x.**

Sparks flew as the two swords clashed. Fortunately for Yousuke, Sorako was also new to her weapon. Toukijin had only one master, and he was dead. The zombie-like girl seemed to have no problems with the mind-warping power of its bloodlust. However, since Tetsusaiga's attacks were broader than Toukijin's, her body was taking significant damage.

Yousuke ran around the courtyard and looked for another opening. As Sorako turned, he caught it again. "Kaze no kizu!" he called and brought the sword down, sending the power of the attack at her. Seeing that she wouldn't be able to dodge, Sorako held Toukijin up to deflect as much of the attack as she could. It tore around her, but still she did not cry out. She sank to one knee and panted. Expecting another attack, but realizing that she was too weak to deliver it, Yousuke rested for a moment.

"I'm going to kill you with this next one," he warned.

"Hurry..." she breathed.

Yousuke raised a brow. "What?"

"Please..." Her voice was different, softer. "Hurry. Release me while you have a chance..."

"That voice..." He stepped forward. "Mi-chan...?"

When she raised her head, the golden eyes were pale grey, the same color as his sister's. "Quickly Yousuke!"

What he had guessed was true: Misora's soul was trapped in Sorako's body. Like a flickering flame, the grey was consumed by the gold once more and Sorako got to her feet.

'Thank goodness,' he thought as he brandished his father's sword one more time. 'If she looked like that, I really wouldn't be able to do this...' Narrowing his eyes and charging once again, Yousuke called out his sister's name and brought the sword down.

Toukijin dropped to the ground. Sorako stared dully at the boy as he ran for her.

In a flash, it was over. Sorako's body was obliterated by Tetsusaiga's true power: the power to protect a mortal.

**.x.**

Miles away at the Taijiya village, the morning mist was giving away to pleasant, late autumn sun shine. Sango finished cleaning up after their huge family breakfast and went in to see how Misora was doing. Miroku crouched nearby, running a rosary through his hands and chanting for the girl.

"Anything different, Houshi-sama?" Sango asked.

He shook his head and sighed, halting his prayers. "I'm getting worried."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Remember whose son is out there..."

Miroku put his right hand, the one which had threatened to swallow him alive until Inuyasha defeated Naraku all those years ago over hers.

"Why don't you go get some breakfast," she offered. "You've been up all night. It's my turn."

Miroku nodded and went to find the food she left him. Sango smiled and watched him trudge sleepily out of the room.

When she turned back Sango made a face and moved closer to get a better look at the dead girl. "I must be seeing things..." she mumbled, thinking that Misora's skin tone seemed to be growing pinker. She yawned, closing her eyes and when she opened them a pair of grey ones drowsily looked over at her.

"Honda... san?"

"Houshi-sama! Come quick!"

_To be concluded…_


	8. Chapter 8

**Zettai Yabureru Nai - Never Tear Us Apart**

**The sequel to Shinjite Ai No Tsuzuki**

**By Aoikami Sarah**

**Chapter Eight**

The hallway seemed a hundred times longer than is should have been as Kagura and Shippou made their way down it. Shippou put his hand up to his face in a vain effort to stave off the flood of jaki coming from the furthest room.

"Chin up, Kitsune. We're almost there."

'This is weird,' Shippou thought. 'I don't get a single vibe from her that she's going to turn on me, but I just can't get that she's the enemy out of my head!' He paused for a moment. "You go first."

Kagura smiled. "Why thank you."

They turned the corner and looked into the darkened room. Something the size of two or three horses undulated in the back. Shippou produced a torch of kitsune-bi and gasped at the sight.

It was Naraku, all right. He'd recognize his face anywhere, but the tendrils coming from his bulk looked far more vegetable than youkai.

"What in the hells...?" Shippou cursed from under his hand.

"I see I should have killed you right out, Kagura," Naraku hissed and slithered. He was blocked against the wall and seemed to be making no effort to escape.

'He's going to try to get by us,' Shippou thought and clenched his fists. Just as his prediction came true and Naraku sped forward on his vine-like limbs, Kagura raised her fan. The joy painted across her face was frightening. "Fuujin no Mai!" The blades of wind sliced through the vines as well as the surrounding walls. As the room exploded and Naraku tried to hustle past his two opponents, Shippou went to all fours and transformed, growing to nearly twenty times his original size.

Yousuke sheathed the Tetsusaiga and took a deep breath. Toukijin glowed like an ember on the ground, emitting such a foul aura that the boy could hardly get near it. His contemplation of the evil sword was shattered as part of the building in front of him exploded.

"Shippou!" he cried and leapt over the roof towards the commotion.

The kitsune splintered through more of the building as it grew. Naraku was trapped between Kagura's fan and Shippou's fangs. The wind user raised her fan, creating a tornado which sucked the vine monster up into its vortex. Shippou inhaled deeply and blew a blast of spirit fire into the mix. Naraku let out a horrific scream and Kagura began to laugh.

"This is for everything you've done to me!" she screamed and tightened the tornado. She saw Yousuke draw his sword from the corner of her eye. "Come, Chibi! Join the party!"

"Yosh'!" he cheered. "Eat this! Kaze no Kizu!" Kagura and Shippou leapt back, leaving Naraku, still spinning and burning in the sword's path. The power to eliminate 100 youkai at once tore at Naraku until there was absolutely nothing left.

The earth crackled and hissed where the attack hit home. Shippou shrank back down and Yousuke made certain that there was no residue left for Naraku to regenerate from.

"It's over," Shippou sighed.

Yousuke looked around. "Where's Kagura?"

Her feather rose over their heads. She clutched a sword to her chest.

"Toukijin!"

"I will take your uncle's sword, Chibi," she said calmly. "Since neither of you can so much as get near it."

Yousuke growled, but Shippou put a hand on his shoulder. "She's right. We can't just leave it lying around."

"You can't give it to HER!" he shouted in protest.

"You don't have much of a choice," Kagura grinned. "What I said back there is true, Kitsune. I will live by my vow." The feather lifted up on the breeze and Kagura disappeared into the cloudless morning sky.

Yousuke was still growling. Shippou tousled his ears. "It's ok. I trust her," he walked off a few paces and transformed back into his kitsune form. "Come on," he called down to the boy. "I'm sure someone's waiting for you."

He grinned wide and they both headed off for the Taijiya village.

**.x.**

For the twenty-first time since Misora and Yousuke disappeared a little over a month ago, Kagome went to the Sengoku O Togi Zoushi, said a little prayer and flipped the page. She sighed quietly at the blank, yellowed parchment. "Inuyasha," she called softly. "I'm going to work." She tucked her ceremonial hat under her arm and headed for the door. Inuyasha looked up from his spot on the couch. It was a crisp fall Sunday and the game was just starting. "Ok, I'm gonna..." he answered but didn't get the rest of his sentence out. "Kagome, something's happening!" He pointed to the open book.

A glowing light was pulsing faintly on top of the exposed page. They ran to it and watched as characters appeared before their eyes, illuminated briefly before congealing into 500-year old ink.

"Mother and Father..." They read aloud. The strokes were deliberate and slow. "Yousuke has found me. We're coming home... soon!" Kagome leapt into Inuyasha's arms and cried for joy.

500 years and a hundred miles away, Misora put the brush down and smiled up at her gaurdians. "Is that ok?" she asked.

"That's fine, Misora-chan," Sango replied and stroked the girl's hair. Their multitude of children looked on, some of the younger ones envious of the girl who was allowed to write in the sacred book.

Miroku jogged into the room. "They're coming!"

Nanaka got up quickly and faltered a little, still recovering from her injuries. "Take it easy, Imoto-chan," Nioumaru smiled as he helped her to her feet. "I don't think Shippou kun will mind if you're not the first one out the door."

"Nioumaru..." Nanaka blushed, but let her older brother help her.

Misora ran outside with the other children. She was easy to spot, her white hair and sailor fuku standing out in the crowd. "Aniisan!!!" she called.

Yousuke practically dove off of Shippou's shoulders and almost tackled her in his embrace. She threw her arms around his neck and let him spin her around, giggling happily. He put her down and knelt in front of her. "Mi-chan... are you all right?"

"Mm!" she nodded. "You did great, Aniisan." Misora reached up and grabbed a hold of his ears. "I wish you could keep these!"

Yousuke looked at her strangely. "What?"

"It's time..." Misora smiled sweetly and put her hand on his chest. Something started to glow under her palm. She retracted her hand and his whole body shimmered.

Shippou squinted and stepped forward. "What's happening!?"

Miroku nodded and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Looks like she has her mother's powers."

Yousuke's ears and claws disappeared and he stopped glowing. "Mi... Mi-chan..." He stared at her.

"It's all right. I took it back. The Shikon no Tama is whole once again and back where it belongs..." She pointed to her chest and gave him a reassuring smile. "Just like Kaasan, I'll protect it."

Astounded, but relieved, Yousuke hugged her tightly again. Shippou smiled and looked around for Nanaka who waved to him. He sighed, glad to see her up and about. It was agreed that there would be a party that night and the following morning they would all set off for the Bone Eater's well for a proper send-off.

**.x.**

**Epilogue:**

It was very early morning on a Tuesday. Inuyasha slapped the clock radio, hard, hitting the snooze button and snuggled back against his wife.

"You're going to be late again," she whispered.

"I'm the foreman, I can be a few minutes late," he nuzzled her neck and closed his eyes. "Why are you awake? That doesn't usually get you up."

Kagome stretched and sat up. "I feel sort of antsy today." To his surprise, she climbed out of bed and started getting dressed. Inuyasha pouted, his plans to sleep in dashed and did likewise.

Mrs. Higurashi was just making tea when they came into the kitchen. "Ohayo, Mama," Kagome greeted her mother.

"My, my. You're up early!" she laughed. Kagome waved dismissively. "There's something in the air, this morning, isn't there?" Mrs. Higurashi smiled optimistically.

Kagome grinned back. "I can feel it."

"Kagome?!" Inuyasha asked, choking on his tea. When she said things like that, they always came true. An infectious smile spread across his face. 'Finally,' he thought. 'She's happy!'

The pattering sound of feet approaching the house at a full run caught their attention. Inuyasha was closest to the back door. He bounded towards it and threw it open.

Dressed in traditional period clothes, Misora and Yousuke came running into the house and into their parents' arms. After several minutes of tears and hugs, Yousuke pulled the sword from his belt.

"Otousan," he addressed his father very seriously and handed Tetsusaiga back to him. "Arigatou."

"I knew you could do it," Inuyasha whispered, grinned and patted him on the head.

"How did you get...?" Kagome started to ask about the sword, but Misora distracted her.

"Kaasan! We got pictures!"

"Eh?!"

Misora held up Yousuke's digital camera that he had in his back pack. "The battery died eventually, but we got tons of everybody!"

Inuyasha grabbed it and ran two steps at a time up the stairs to Yousuke's room. "Come on, let's check it out!" The kids cheered and followed.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome said with frustration in her voice, knowing that he was hiding something from her. Her mother held her hand.

"They're home, Kagome."

Tears came to her eyes. The Miko smiled, nodded and headed up stairs.

**END**


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